Halfway champions
The 2024 Formula 1 season marked McLaren’s return to the top, securing the Constructors’ Championship 26 years after their last triumph. They also fought for the Drivers’ Championship until two races from the end. Lando Norris tried to prevent Max Verstappen from claiming his fourth consecutive title, but ultimately, the British driver had to yield to the reigning champion’s dominance.
During his prolonged pursuit of his friend and rival in the standings, Norris did not always receive full and unconditional support from his team. McLaren occasionally hesitated to issue team orders in his favor, opting instead to allow on-track battles between him and teammate Oscar Piastri, even though the Australian was significantly further behind in the standings.
A pointless message
A radio message that became symbolic of these “non-decisions” by McLaren occurred during the Italian GP – won by Charles Leclerc for Ferrari – when Norris and Piastri were granted freedom to race each other under the so-called “papaya rules.” Now that the season has concluded, McLaren’s main rival this year, Max Verstappen, has mocked this team radio. During an interview with Dutch broadcaster Viaplay at the end of the championship, Verstappen was asked for his opinion on the communication from the McLaren pit wall, which quickly went viral.
As is often the case, Max Verstappen’s response was candid and unapologetic: “To me, that’s just a meaningless phrase. ‘Papaya rules’ is totally pointless. If I heard that from my engineer, I’d immediately tell him to shut up,” Max said bluntly, and it’s easy to believe him given some of the team radios involving the Dutch superstar this year. “I’d think, ‘what kind of nonsense is this?’” Verstappen continued. “If you say [over the radio] ‘you’re free to race,’ then fine. But they could have handled the situation in a simpler and better way as a team,” the world champion concluded.
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