McLaren Boss Andrea Stella Reveals Papaya Rules Plan For F1 2026

A slow pitstop for Norris at Monza after the Briton had given up priority to help Piastri saw the Australian leap ahead, with McLaren stepping in to switch the positions back around, drawing ire from fans of the driver of the #81.

Norris was handed consequences for contact with Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix, though that was equalized by the roles being reversed in the United States GP sprint.

McLaren looking to "evolve"

Given the attention given to the Papaya rules across the 2025 season, Stella was asked at the Autosport Awards in London whether the saga had been put to rest and whether the rules would still be used.

"There is nothing in F1 that you put to rest," Stella told Autosport. "You need to continuously evolve, continuously review and continuously find a way to do better.

"Even when it comes to the racing principles that we apply in the way we go racing at McLaren with Lando and Oscar, while we could confirm even in the review post-season and in the ongoing conversations, we confirm the principles of fairness, equality, sportsmanship, that's the way we want to go racing because that's the way we feel better presented.

"At the same time, there are many things in which we can find ways of doing things better. Hopefully, if we can find a way to do the same but in a simpler way, more streamlined way with less work for everyone, that will be an important improvement for the future."

McLaren is one of a handful of teams waiting until after the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - held behind closed doors - to hold a season launch.

The team based in Woking, England, is opting to forego running on day one of the first test to maximize development, as per The Race, with squads allowed to run on any three of the five days.