In the 2025 Australian GP, Lando Norris, the leading driver for McLaren, clarified the controversial team orders that were issued during the race. The instruction was not targeting to hinder the progress of his teammate, Oscar Piastri, but rather to safeguard the dominant 1-2 standing of the team at the Albert Park Circuit.
Norris had an impressive lead in the early phase of the race, managing to keep the aggressive Max Verstappen at bay. An unexpected error from Verstappen gave the Australian racer, Piastri, the opportunity to narrow the distance with Norris in their shared McLaren vehicle.
The 23-year-old Piastri seemed to enjoy a speed advantage, closing the gap to a mere second, a neck-and-neck race with the added DRS advantage. It looked like he was set to challenge for the lead position at his home race in Melbourne.
However, a sudden shift occurred when his race engineer, Tom Stallard, conveyed a radio message on Lap 30, directing him not to challenge Norris for the leading position. This order caused a stir among fans, sparking concerns that the young driver might be barred by McLaren from contending for the title.
Norris, in an attempt to settle the dust, explained the scenario ahead of the F1 2025 Chinese GP. “I didn’t know about it because they communicated it to Oscar,” Norris revealed to media including Total-Motorsport.com. “It was merely for two or three laps, during which we navigated through backmarkers.”
He further explained that the order was issued due to risky conditions on the track, and the team didn’t want to risk a situation where an attempt to race could result in both drivers going off the track, or not securing the result they were aiming for.
The McLaren racer stressed that the team order was not in favor of any driver, but purely for the team’s interest. He added, “We were leading and in the second position, it would be foolish to do anything risky when we don’t need to.”
The controversial instruction also raised questions when Piastri made an error at Turn 6, which allowed Norris to widen the gap. Critics suggested that the team only allowed Piastri to race again because Norris was no longer at risk of losing his lead.
However, radio transmission data released by Formula 1 contradicts this claim, suggesting that the team order was lifted before Piastri made the mistake. The young driver from Melbourne, who is managed by former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, was already at liberty to push once again and made the error of his own accord.
The McLaren “papaya rules” continue to be a hot topic in the F1 2024 season, with critics arguing they were not implemented early enough. Despite this, McLaren seems content to let their drivers compete, albeit not with a blank check. This incident has brought clarity to the controversial McLaren team orders, confirming that they were never intended to stop Piastri.