Zak Brown opens up on ‘papaya rules’ and McLaren team orders debate as Lando Norris misses out on golden opportunity

Zak Brown has opened up on the meaning behind 'papaya rules' after Monza reignited the debate over whether team orders are needed at McLaren. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri went wheel to wheel on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix, with the Australian managing to barge his way past pole-sitter Norris and ultimately finish ahead of the Brit.

Norris is Max Verstappen’s closest rival in the drivers’ championship, and with the Dutchman struggling and coming home sixth, Monza could have been a golden opportunity for Norris to close the gap, which stood at 70 points before the race. His P3 finish coupled with the bonus point for fastest lap reduced that gap to 62 – but had he won, that would have been 52 points.

In allowing their drivers to fight, McLaren opened the door for Ferrari on Sunday, with Norris suffering a compromised exit from Turn 4 after being overtaken by Piastri, which in turn gave eventual race winner Charles Leclerc a run on Norris into the Lesmos.

All of that combined to set up Leclerc’s drive to his fairytale Monza win – with the team also opting not to switch their drivers on the final lap when it was clear that victory had gone, and thus ensuring another three points for Norris.

2024 Italian Grand Prix: Norris loses lead to Oscar Piastri

“It was aggressive, it was an aggressive move [by Piastri],” McLaren CEO Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1 after the race. “Their start was great and that was what we had discussed, kind of get behind the other and fan out to make sure nobody else could get by.

“I think Lando was probably caught by surprise with that move, thinking let’s just tuck into a one-two and see if we can pull a bit of a gap, so it’s something we’ll discuss internally.

“Papaya rules are it’s your team mate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch, that happened. It was an aggressive pass so that’s a conversation we’ll have, that was a bit nerve wracking on pit wall but it’s really just respect your team mate.

"Lando got a bad run out of that corner as well so it would have been nice to see them run one-two a bit longer. They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive pass but a clean pass.”

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 01: The McLaren team celebrates Second placed Oscar Piastri of Australia — Piastri and Norris did both finish on the podium - but couldn't manage to grab the win they so craved

McLaren have now reduced Red Bull’s lead in the constructors’ to just eight points, but Ferrari’s Monza win has brought them back into the reckoning too, something Brown called “exciting” with eight races to go until the end of the season.

But he remained firm in his assessment that McLaren don’t prioritise one driver over the other.

“They are both young drivers who want to win, we have always believed in having two number ones, that’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage – we’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.

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“They get along great, they do race each other clean and it’s philosophical – are you a one-car team or a two-car team? The easiest thing would have been for Lando to just run away with it, and then not have to put difficult decisions on pit wall but Andrea [Stella] and I are taking it one race at a time.”

AUTODROMO NAZIONALE MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 01: Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position, and — McLaren didn't impose team orders at Monza, allowing their drivers to race to the flag

Team Principal Andrea Stella was also swift to congratulate Ferrari on their Italian Grand Prix victory, but acknowledged that it was in many ways a “disappointing” result for McLaren. He was clear after Zandvoort that any team orders discussion would happen prior to the race, and would be taken on a case by case basis.

As such, he wouldn’t be drawn on the Lap 1 overtake after being told that Norris hadn’t been overly impressed when he’d spoken to the media.

“Well, in terms of expectation and the impression of the drivers and the overtake itself, we will have to take a look with some calm and have a review together with them and assess the situation," Stella said. "If there is any learning to take from there, we will take it for the future.”

Whether McLaren will have a change of heart regarding team orders remains to be seen, with plenty of time for those reviews to take place before racing resumes in Azerbaijan after a weekend off.