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Piastri prepared to obey Papaya Rules: 'Happy to help Norris out'
In recent weeks there has been much discussion over McLaren's team orders, particularly after the Hungarian Grand Prix when Lando Norris was ordered to give his first place position back to his teammate Oscar Piastri. With both drivers having won a race since then, it seems many have questioned what the 'Papaya Rules' are. In Singapore, the Australian addressed how it all works.
With Norris just 59 points behind Max Verstappen in the Driver's standings, he has been positioned as the first driver. For Piastri, this makes sense. "Lando is obviously still ahead in the championship, and just being honest, he is a more realistic chance of winning the drivers championship," he said. Nevertheless, Piastri has also proved himself to be a strong and competitive driver. He further demonstrated his talent by securing his second F1 win in Baku.
"I think the race in Baku was honestly a great exhibition of how we want to go racing as McLaren. Lando was definitely a factor in helping me win the race in Baku by some tyre saving with Checo. So those kinds of things are the message we're trying to get across, and I think Baku, we got it across perfectly on the track of our culture and how we want to go racing," he added.
Is Piastri prepared to help his teammate Norris?
With Norris' stronger position in the championship, Piastri recognises how crucial the remainder of the season is to both the Brit and the team. For the Australian, this means that nothing has changed in terms of the team orders. "If I'm in a position to still win races, then that's what I want to do, and I think I showed in Baku that I'm capable of doing that. But naturally, if there's times where I can help out for Lando's championship bid, then I'll be happy to help out as well. So it's not really changed anything, but I'm still free to go into every weekend trying to achieve the best result," he concluded.
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