The ongoing debate about McLaren’s team orders, colloquially known as the ‘papaya rules’, has been a hot topic for weeks. Former F1 driver Nico Rosberg has also weighed in on the McLaren discussion. He understands the team’s struggle with imposing team orders, especially since Oscar Piastri still has a mathematical chance of winning the world title.
McLaren has made a remarkable turnaround from being a backmarker team to leading the constructors’ championship between early 2023 and now. The British team has even surpassed its competitor, Red Bull, by a significant 41 points. Rosberg also finds McLaren’s transformation “magical”.
“It’s a positive spiral at McLaren because everyone is happy. That motivates you to work even harder and better,” Rosberg explains. “I think McLaren is only getting stronger and stronger. They are outperforming everyone, and it’s truly magical to watch.”
However, a cloud hangs over McLaren’s blue sky: the ongoing debate about team orders. Rosberg understands why the team is reluctant to impose team orders on their drivers. “Managing team orders and the drivers internally is not fun. It’s not a pleasant thing to do because it’s all about emotions, and I hope they can handle it.”
Are Team Orders Premature?
Lando Norris is currently 52 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, making him a more realistic contender to dethrone the Dutchman than teammate Oscar Piastri. However, Rosberg believes it’s too “premature” to give team orders to the Australian. “We’ve seen that Piastri deserves to win races because he’s doing great and is still in the hunt for the championship,” says the former Mercedes driver.
“Mathematically, he can still do it (win the championship) if things really go his way, so at some point, McLaren will impose team orders, and Oscar has already said that he will accept it,” concludes Rosberg.
