McLaren has successfully kept a lid on tensions between the pair, enforcing ‘Papaya Rules’ of engagement
Oscar Piastri
Newly minted back-to-back Formula One champions McLaren face a fresh challenge heading into the final quarter of the season after tensions between their drivers, locked in a near-exclusive title battle, boiled over in the steamy Singapore night on Sunday.
The trigger was provided by Lando Norris, who made contact with Max Verstappen at the start of the race. The minor collision sent him sliding into teammate Oscar Piastri but still allowed him to gain position on the Australian, who felt the Briton had passed him unfairly.
Piastri made his stance clear on the team radio in a bid to get Mclaren to order Norris to let him past. When McLaren refused, saying Norris had only collided with him because of his contact with Verstappen, Piastri responded, “Yeah, but if he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate then that’s a pretty shit job of avoiding.
“Obviously Oscar made some statements while he was in the car, but that’s the kind of character we want,” said team principal Andrea Stella. “We will review the situation together with our drivers and see if there’s anything to fine tune.”
McLaren has successfully kept a lid on tensions between the pair, enforcing ‘Papaya Rules’ of engagement.
Piastri leads Norris by 22 points with six races remaining, while Red Bull’s Verstappen, 63 points behind, has reduced a 104-point gap over the last three races.
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