Zak Brown has confirmed that McLaren’s controversial ‘papaya rules’ philosophy will continue into the 2026 season, despite fan outrage over incidents in Monza and Singapore, among others.
As soon as it became clear that the 2025 Drivers’ Champion would more than likely be a McLaren racer, Brown and team principal Andrea Stella made it clear that the team would provide equal opportunities to their two stars, as long as they followed the team’s ‘papaya rules’ racing philosophy.
Both drivers have benefited and lost out as a result of the team’s strategy this season, but some fans have been left with a bad taste in their mouths, accusing McLaren of giving Lando Norris preferential treatment over Piastri. This narrative was fuelled by incidents in Monza, Budapest and Singapore, in which the Australian came off worse each time.
But speaking after FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Brown confirmed that the philosophy would remain unchanged for the new technical regulations. “Well, we’re definitely committed to giving both drivers equal opportunities to win the World Championship,” he declared.
“I think you’re always, even when you win, on Monday, going to talk about what you could have done differently or better, so we’re constantly evolving as a racing team. But the fundamentals of having two drivers that we give equal opportunity to win, that won’t change.
“Do we look back and have lots of learnings? I mean I remember when we finished first and second in Spain, our debrief on Monday, [there] were about eight things that were close calls that we could have done better.
“So I think that’s the nature of a Formula One team, that we’ll always evaluate and go, what could we have done differently, what could we have done better? I think in sport, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some.
“Of course, when you’ve made mistakes, you wish you hadn’t, but that’s just not realistic. I’ve yet to see any person or any team in any sport have the perfect season, so we’re no different than that. But fundamentally, the way we go racing, that won’t change.”
While McLaren’s use of team orders has been scrutinised, Brown is more than willing to instruct his drivers from the pit wall on Sunday, if it will help them deliver the Drivers’ Championship title.
Piastri’s clear-cut situation will make that decision easier, should McLaren need to step in. The 24-year-old has to finish first or second to keep his name in the hat, so if he finds himself running down the order, away from the podium, he can expect to play the enabler role for Norris.
