"This isn't kindergarten": Ex-F1 driver asks McLaren to trash 'Papaya Rules' as Norris-Piastri 'peace' nears end

Former F1 driver Christian Danner has asked McLaren to do away with its 'Papaya Rules' and take tough decisions as the championship battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris intensifies. His comments came in light of their Singapore GP controversy.

On the opening lap of the 62-lap race at the Marina Bay Circuit, Norris slid and bumped into Piastri and secured P3 in Turn 3. The latter claimed his teammate's move wasn't "team-like," but the McLaren pit wall found nothing wrong with the incident and refused to take action against Norris. Piastri found it "not fair" and eventually couldn't finish on the podium, while Norris did.

Christian Danner recently reacted to the controversy, opining that Oscar Piastri's was "understandable and comprehensible." He also highlighted that the incident would be the first domino before the 'Papaya Rules', the informal term for McLaren's rules for intra-team driver battles, come to an end.

"For me, this is the beginning of the end of the Papaya Rules. I don't think we can continue to work with these two in a peaceful, happy way in the future. We can expect something exciting now," Danner said via Sport.de.

He also asked the Andrea Stella-led team to choose a driver to support in the drivers' championship battle and bluntly deal with the emotions that arise as a result.

"This isn't a kindergarten, and certainly not a wish list. It's high time to make a tough decision about how things should be decided: namely, that one of the two becomes Formula 1 World Champion, and not pay too much attention to the sensitivities—the emotional, the moral, and otherwise."

Piastri leads the championship by 22 points over Norris with six races remaining in the 2025 F1 season. Former Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner had the same advice as Danner about McLaren prioritizing one driver going forward. The only difference between the opinions was that Steiner explicitly stated that Piastri should be prioritized because he leads the race by a good margin.

Former McLaren driver highlights Oscar Piastri's 'foolishness' in Singapore GP incident with Lando Norris

Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya described Oscar Piastri as a "fool for once" while talking about his incident with Lando Norris at the Singapore GP. The seven-time Grand Prix winner criticized the Australian driver for opening his hands and taking the outside line when he saw teammate Lando Norris accelerating on the inside of Turn 3.

Montoya supported Norris for his aggressive maneuver and said (via F1oversteer):

"We’re seeing a Lando who is starting to take control. He’s starting to make his presence felt. He did what he had to do. Oscar left the door open like never before. Coming out of the first corner, if you look, Lando sees that Oscar doesn’t accelerate, and the moment Lando accelerates, Oscar opens." "Oscar acted like a fool for once. He threw himself like crazy on the outside so that Lando wouldn’t reach him, and Lando threw himself like crazy on the inside," the Colombian added.

The McLaren drivers are one collision away from bringing third-placed Max Verstappen closer into the drivers' championship battle. The Red Bull driver is 41 points behind second-place Norris and 63 points behind the leader, Piastri.

Edited by Yash Kotak