McLaren handed overwhelming verdict in 'papaya rules' F1 title fight

McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella have been urged to abolish their 'papaya rules' for the remainder of the F1 season and let Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fight it out on track for the drivers' championship.

Stella has said McLaren will not abandon its racing principles. Still, the team has only created a contentious situation with its rules of engagement between its two 'number one' drivers as they duke it out for the title.

That was evident in the recent Italian and Singapore Grands Prix.

At Monza, Piastri was asked to cede a position back to Norris, who encountered a slow pit stop that dropped him behind his team-mate, allowing the Briton to finish second behind race-winner Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

In Singapore, Piastri was left incensed after believing Norris had barged him out of the way as they went wheel to wheel through Turn 3, albeit the slight impact occurring after the Briton had clipped the rear of Verstappen's car during his attack.

Stella vowed immediately after the race, and with the constructors' title convincingly wrapped up with the three-four finish for Norris and Piastri, that the situation would be reviewed.

As far as F1 fans are concerned, they feel Brown and Stella should now back off and let their drivers get on with it, with the duo split by just 22 points, and with 174 still on the table from the final six grands prix and three sprints.

The response to our latest poll was a strong indicator of the way the fans feel, with almost 4,500 votes registered.

With just over 2,800 votes, almost 64% of fans feel McLaren should leave the drivers alone to sort out their championship scrap.

In contrast, 19% believe the rules should be reinforced if the drivers collide again, whilst just over 17% voted that it is the team’s responsibility to manage driver conduct.

One fan, Keith Ashman, certainly feels the latter to be the right route. He wrote: "I think the rules McLaren has used have created a more mature, sensible driving approach, and certainly it shows in their results."