Sportstar·India·Monday, October 19, 2026 at 05:14 AM UTC

Formula 1: McLaren’s Papaya rules under scrutiny once again after Norris-Piastri Singapore Sprint crash

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Anish Pathiyil

The collision cost McLaren eight points and exposed the limits of its race-hard, race-clean philosophy, with the team now facing a crucial Constructors’ Championship fight against Red Bull.

Updated : Oct 19, 2026 10:44 IST , CHENNAI - 5 MINS READ

McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in action during the Sprint race at Singapore. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in action during the Sprint race at Singapore. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Formula One is a team sport. Or so they say. Some teams and drivers fully adhere to that philosophy. But those following the sport day in and day out know the adage is often a farce. There is nothing more supreme than the drivers’ title, and seasons are often recollected based on who won the championship that year.

Right from the historic Alain Prost-Ayrton Senna tangle at the Casio Triangle chicane during the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, flashpoints between teammates have become one of the intriguing aspects of the highest tier of single-seater racing.

Since that clash that decided the World Championship, many such skirmishes within the same team have occurred — Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in Turkey in 2010, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in Spain in 2016, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in Azerbaijan in 2018, to name a few.

This season’s prime moment of controversy came during the Sprint Race ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. The final podium spot was on the line as the two McLarens chased Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

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The scarlet-red car was within touching distance of Oscar Piastri in the lead McLaren. Heading into Turn 5 on the final lap, defending champion Lando Norris attempted a chancy move down the inside of his teammate. The risky endeavour only resulted in a tangle which sent both the cars spinning. Piastri lurched into the barriers, forcing him to retire, while his teammate limped home in eighth to get the last available point.

“It was a big gap [and] I went for it. I have the right to do that,” was Norris’ first reaction after the incident. “There was a big opportunity at Turn 5. The gap closed [a] bit more than I would have liked. Obviously, I’ve had to back out of it because the gap was closing, so I’ve had to try and avoid the incident, and obviously there still was one,” the driver of Car No. 1 said.

Piastri argued that he had not seen his teammate make the dive up the inside. “I looked behind into the corner and saw he was a reasonable way behind for a corner like that,” he said. This is not the first time the two teammates have come together. At last year’s Canadian Grand Prix, the two title protagonists collided heading into the start-finish straight, and once again it was Norris running into the back of his teammate.

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Although there wasn’t much in it for the team this time, compared to the championship challenge last year, team principal Andrea Stella wasn’t pleased. “Disappointed as a team principal by a situation that is absolutely not acceptable, because it caused material damage to the team, and every member of the team knows that the team’s interest comes before any personal interest,” the Italian said post-race.

The collision once again brings the team’s ‘Papaya rules’ into question. McLaren CEO Zak Brown defined the term as: “It’s your teammate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch.” One of the key elements of the code is to ensure fairness between the two teammates. But very often, it is simply difficult to point fingers at one driver for a clash involving the two. Even in Singapore, the blame cannot be solely placed at Norris’ feet. The Briton argues that his front wheel was level with Piastri’s rearview mirror at the apex, and that gives him the right to go for the overtake.

During the tense title fights between Rosberg and Hamilton, Mercedes put together a ‘rules of engagement’ to clearly demarcate how the drivers should race, with the team stepping in only as a last resort. While the document did help reduce the number of incidents, it couldn’t prevent the first-lap crash in Barcelona, which resulted in both drivers getting a dressing down at the team’s headquarters in Brackley, after which the rules were further strengthened. Rosberg also revealed later that the drivers had to contribute to the cost of damages if it occurred during a tussle with a teammate.

McLaren is not in contention for either championship this year but is in a serious fight for second place in the Constructors’ standings. The eight points lost due to the tussle leave the team just nine ahead of Red Bull in third place, and with Verstappen hitting his stride in the latter part of the season, the odds are stacked against the defending teams’ champion. A more definitive method of dealing with these incidents will only help the team maximise its points if it hopes for a title challenge next year.

Published on Oct 19, 2026

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