Max Verstappen crushed McLaren’s recent dominance with a lights-to-flag victory at Monza, but the drama came from the papaya camp itself.
Lando Norris found himself jeered by the tifosi after benefitting from a late-race team order that forced Oscar Piastri to give back the position. The Australian, leading only because Norris had been delayed by a pitstop blunder, bristled over the radio: “We said a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t know what has changed.”
But once the podium beckoned, Piastri’s tone softened. “A little ‘in-chi-dent’ at the end, but that’s ok,” he laughed.
Norris, meanwhile, shrugged off the boos as he closed the points gap in the title fight. “I don’t know why. I heard them. I hear the cheers louder than the boos, and that’s the most important.”
Asked directly about “papaya rules,” Norris was emphatic: “There are no papaya rules anymore. We never had them. The main thing is fairness. We don’t care what’s been done in the past – we do what we think is right.”
On the supposed ‘rules of engagement’ document, Norris quipped: “One page – I don’t think it’s even one page.”
Piastri eventually obeyed but hinted at frustration: “I said what I had to say on the radio. And once I got the second request, then I’m not going to go against the team. I think there’s a lot of people to protect and a culture to protect outside of just Lando and I. The radio call kind of says enough. I’m sure we’ll discuss it again.”
Norris was clear on his stance: “The team is the priority. The team is number one, then the drivers are second. That’s how it works. Normally, when you see teams who don’t have enough respect for the team and the opportunities the team gives, it doesn’t normally last long.”
Even Verstappen couldn’t resist a laugh when told about the swap. “I know you guys want a fun answer on that, but it’s not my problem.” Later, speaking to Viaplay in Dutch, he added: “In my opinion, a bad pitstop can happen, just like an engine failure or a driver’s own mistake. That’s racing. So yes, I had to laugh a little about Oscar having to give up the position. I’ll leave it at that.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warned McLaren may have set a dangerous precedent: “I think we’ll get an answer to what the right decision was later in the season when things get heated.”
But team principal Andrea Stella stood firm: “It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about our philosophy and how we want to go about our racing. It had nothing to do with Lando’s technical retirement at Zandvoort.”
McLaren now has the chance to seal the constructors’ championship in Baku.
