Oscar Piastri hints at possible changes to controversial McLaren 'papaya rules'

Oscar Piastri has hinted that McLaren could make possible changes to its 'papaya rules' after a review over the winter.

During the title fight with the eventual world champion, Lando Norris in 2025, Piastri believed that he had been unfairly impacted by a number of incidents as the race intensified.

In Italy, after a slow pit-stop for Norris, he was instructed to allow the Briton to re-pass for second place before being allowed to race. Piastri claimed over the radio that during discussions, he believed a slow pit-stop had been designated as a "part of racing", but did follow the request.

The 'papaya rules', which first gained public notice in 2024, have been described by both drivers, team boss Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown as essentially being an instruction not to crash into each other or have contact.

However, in Singapore, Piastri was also aggrieved after being shoved out of the way by Norris for third place at Turn 2 on the opening lap, with no instructions being given for Norris to cede the position. 

A late-season wobble in form ultimately cost Piastri the title to Norris, as he also slipped to third behind Max Verstappen, as the Melbourne-native addressed the team orders situation ahead of the new campaign. 

"It gets talked about a lot," he told Channel 9. 

"Behind the scenes, it's a much smaller discussion and a smaller deal than what it gets made out to be.

"But, we've got our ways of going racing, and it's constantly evolving. We'll do a review, and we already have reviewed. 

"Do we want to do things exactly the same? Do we want to change things a bit? We'll get a handle on that fully before we go racing again.

"For me, the intentions were always in the right place, and we'll do some tweaking if we feel we need it, to try and make life a bit easier for ourselves."