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McLaren Confirms ‘Papaya Rules’ Will Stay for 2026 After Title Double

The team presents equal treatment as its blueprint following a 2025 season that delivered both championships.

Overview

  • CEO Zak Brown said at the FIA prize-giving that McLaren will keep treating Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri equally next season.
  • Team principal Andrea Stella praised both drivers for delivering points, wins and conduct that secured the Constructors’ crown.
  • Oscar Piastri said he will hold winter talks with team bosses to discuss potential tweaks to how the policy is applied.
  • Introduced in 2024, the approach requires equal treatment and occasional position swaps, a stance critics argue at times helped Max Verstappen as Norris won the title by two points in Abu Dhabi.
  • The Las Vegas Grand Prix disqualification for excessive plank wear, confirmed by FIA delegate Jo Bauer, remained a talking point at McLaren’s celebration where Piastri joked about it and Brown’s Alpine quip went viral.