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McLaren's Piastri stunt reeks of hypocrisy, they look weak
Emily Benammar • November 28th, 2025 2:46 pm
Let me get this straight.
For 22 rounds of this F1 season, McLaren have publicly backed their drivers to race.
For two seasons we have been preached to by the likes of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella about honouring “papaya rules”.
The “rules” consist of three unofficial guidelines within the team which allow Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to: race hard but cleanly, not crash into each other and always do what is best for the team.
But now, with two races left and both drivers in contention to be world champion, Piastri has been asked to help Norris out.
Are we serious?
A ruthless Piastri informed the media ahead the Qatar Grand Prix that a “brief discussion” about helping his teammate wrap up the title had been had behind the scenes in Qatar.
“The answer is no,” the 24-year-old said. "I'm still equal on points with Max and I've got a decent shot of still winning it if things go my way so, yeah, that's how we'll play.”
If the Australian was mathematically out of contention or trailing by a significant margin, I could possibly get on board with this notion of him helping. In that scenario you can argue that helping Norris would be "doing what is best for the team".
But he is very much in contention. this reeks of hypocrisy and will only reignite the conspiracy theories of preferential treatment we have only just managed to put to bed.
Piastri trails Norris by 24 points and is level with Max Verstappen. There are 58 points up for grabs across the final two races and sprint.
Now is not the time to be asking your driver who, could very well be leading the race by Monday, to help the other one. Ludicrous.
This is F1. Just look at how the standings have shifted since September to see how unpredictable this sport is.
Eleven weeks ago, Piastri led Verstappen by 104 points and Norris by 34.
Who saw the Aussie going six straight races without a podium? Who saw Verstappen coming from the clouds and who could have predicted the double disqualification McLaren suffered in Vegas?
This is what sport is about.
The approach on Piastri to help Norris out at this stage makes McLaren look weak. They’re panicking.
They know Verstappen is a force to be reckoned with when the pressure is on, and, while they won’t admit it, they will also know that Norris buckles under pressure.
If McLaren blows the chance of having a world champion it will be through their own doing, not Piastri’s refusal to backflip on “papaya rules”.
He has every right under the team guidelines to maximise his opportunity for a maiden title.
Fast forward to Monday and if Norris has outscored Piastri and Verstappen by two points or more, then he will be world champion. Job done.
If he hasn’t, then re-evaluate what the team strategy is going into Abu Dhabi.
Hypothetically, if Norris crashes out in this weekend’s sprint or Grand Prix and Piastri secures a good result, the race to be world champion is a very different story going into the season finale.
The permutations are endless, but one thing is certain.
Whoever it is at McLaren that has approached Piastri to be a support act has only damaged the team brand and made them look like hypocrites.
For two years you have declared the team mantra is “let them race”.
So, stop the nonsense and let them.
