Oscar Piastri has denied suggestions that he is now the number 1 driver at McLaren. The Aussie shut down reporters who asked if team orders could come into play following his crash with Lando Norris at the Canadian GP.
Lando Norris rear-ended Oscar Piastri on the start/finish straight at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The former went into the wall, and his race ended there. Luckily for Norris, who instantly admitted fault, Piastri was unaffected and ended the race in P4.
But the incident raised a few questions regarding McLaren’s “Papaya rules”, which allows their drivers to battle out on track. After the incident in Canada, team principal Andrea Stella reaffirmed that no team orders will be called going forward.
In the press conference ahead of the Austrian GP, the question of team orders was posed to Oscar Piastri as well. However, the Australian driver did not want to indulge in hypotheticals.
“I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations. So no, I’m not willing to enter those talks at all.” said the championship leader. [via Grandprix.com]
Former Haas chief Gunther Steiner also recently claimed that the only way for McLaren to beat Max Verstappen is for them to deploy team orders. The Italian also claimed that internal conversations around this topic are already happening with the Papaya team.
Oscar Piastri only looking for a “fair opportunity” to fight for the driver’s title
Oscar Piastri is leading the F1 world championship by 22 points. His teammate is second. But the 24-year-old isn’t demanding team orders.
Prior to the Austrian GP, Piastri was also asked if he should now get the preference over Lando Norris, given he has a healthy lead over his teammate in the standings.
“Your version of healthy is much bigger than mine,” replied Piastri. [via Grandprix.com]
“I think, for me, I just want, and we all want, a fair opportunity, especially in the drivers’ championship, because ultimately it can only be one of us,” he added.
“Papaya rules” is the name given by McLaren to their internal rules of racing. These rules basically mean that both their drivers are allowed to race out on track. This gives them both an equal opportunity to fight for the drivers’ championship.
Last year, the British team asked Piastri to give up a Sprint win against Norris in Brazil. But this was at a stage in the season when only Norris could have challenged Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.
In 2025, McLaren has been fairly consistent with their rules. They have allowed their drivers to go racing, without favoring one over the other. This seems the fairest way to go racing for the drivers, given the team’s clear advantage over the rest of the field. But these rules could come back to hurt McLaren if the chasing pack closes the gap.
