F1 News
Verstappen laughs at McLaren: 'They must have regretted that'
- Ludo van Denderen
The 'papaya rules' that were used by McLaren throughout 2024 came into question multiple times in the season as Lando Norris was vying for his first-ever drivers' title. However, the team orders from the British team saw the McLaren driver miss out on some vital points in his eventually unsuccessful title challenge, which Jos Verstappen found amusing as he looked back at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen Sr. is not in favour of instructing drivers to let their teammates get ahead of them, at least when it comes to determining the outcome of a race. At least his son Max Verstappen doesn't, which the four time world champion has made clear in the past.
For instance, Verstappen's forceful 'no' to the urgent request to let then teammate Carlos Sainz pass him in Singapore. A perfectly logical 'no', Jos Verstappen believes in conversation with Formula 1. "That was also just a ridiculous request. Once you start doing that...," said the father of the four-time champion, looking back to the events that took place a decade ago.
A few years ago, there was another request, similar in nature, from Red Bull Racing to Verstappen when he was asked by his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase to let Sergio Perez through in Brazil 2022 Even though the Dutchman had already claimed his second consecutive world title, he refused to let the Mexican driver by. Since then, Red Bull Racing has not 'asked' him anything similar again.
McLaren's team orders in Hungary
At McLaren in 2024, there were some very close calls with their team orders, or as they referred to them themselves, the so called "papaya rules." Lando Norris moved over for Oscar Piastri in Hungary, even though it was Norris who seemed to be in the strongest position in the title fight. In hindsight, the Briton lost valuable points with that decision. Jos Verstappen now says: "They must have regretted that later."
"Because you don't know what's going on in that team, what the situation is with contracts and what agreements were made. But if I translate it to Max, I think he would have had trouble letting his teammate pass him. But everyone is different and has to react in the way that suits them," Verstappen concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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