MONZA & THE PAPAYA RULES

Charles Leclerc won the 2024 Italian Grand Prix in an electrifying race at the Temple of Speed. It was his second win of the season after winning his home race at the Monaco Grand Prix and a glorious moment of pride on home soil for Ferrari and the riveting Tifosi. McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris came in second and third place, an eyebrow-furrowing finish for the drivers who had a 1-2 start at the beginning of the race. 

Leclerc’s win over Piastri and Norris can be credited to pit stops. The winner and his teammate, Carlos Sainz, opted for a one-stop strategy at the Temple of Speed, a risky move that ultimately paid off for the Monagesque driver. Unfortunately, the Spanish driver finished fourth because his tires ultimately gave out within those last few critical laps, which allowed Piastri and Norris to overtake him. Both McLaren drivers, unlike Ferrari, had two pit stops throughout the race, which opened up a window of opportunity for Leclerc. It's also worth noting that Mercedes and Red Bull pitted their drivers twice, significantly impacting their results - Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, Max Verstappen sixth, George Russell seventh, and Sergio Perez eighth. 

Another facet of McLaren's performance may hurt them in the long run if left unchecked: the "Papaya Rules." The term was used a few times over the team radio, first uttered not long after Piastri dauntlessly overtook his teammate at the race start and became the race leader for most of the race. "Just don't crash, that's all," explained Lando Norris when asked to define the term at the post-race conference. 

Though I understand the team's intention to create a mandate that upholds rules of engagement while satiating the appetite of two equally competitive drivers, a better result could have been produced had McLaren prioritized Lando Norris in the Grand Prix. Don't get me wrong: I believe that Oscar Piastri did a fabulous job despite his second-place finish. He's a competitive driver who went for a gap when it presented itself, and to quote the late Ayrton Senna, "If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you're no longer a racing driver." That gap happened to be presented by his teammate, who is notoriously known for losing the lead within the first lap of any race in which he holds pole position. My issue is that McLaren favored a Piastri victory throughout the race. 

Enforcing a driver swap with a one-pit stop strategy would have increased the likelihood of a 1-2 finish while giving Norris the maximum points necessary to decrease the then 70-point gap to Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship. Though eight points have reduced the gap between the drivers, Norris must grasp every point he can get in the upcoming races. Letting Piastri lead in the race takes away from any extra points Norris ought to be getting. The only way to guarantee the maximum points is to win as many upcoming races as possible or at least outperform Verstappen. 

This should be achievable for Norris, but only if McLaren seriously grows as determined to win the Drivers' Championship with Norris as much as they are determined to win the Constructors'. With only eight points behind Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, McLaren seems poised to take the lead within the next race or two. The team will achieve that and more if they focus on Norris. Given the stakes and all, this would be an appropriate time to enforce a "first driver, second driver" team order, at least for the rest of the season. In their era of dominance, Mercedes never hesitated to prioritize Lewis Hamilton to ensure the lead in both categories. Red Bull never hesitated to do the same with Max Verstappen. At least for this year, McLaren ought to take a page from their rivals and apply the same resoluteness with Lando Norris. 

Piastri is a talented driver, and it's been made clear that he has the skill, wit, and bravado to win the Drivers' Championship one day, perhaps as soon as next year. Right now, though, Norris is the team's best guarantee. Letting the drivers fight it out on the track, invoking "Papaya Rules", and crossing their fingers that they end up with a 1-2 finish was the wrong approach at Monza, and it certainly will be the wrong approach in Baku if McLaren wants to win both championships. 

PS - In other spicy F1 news, the FIA has announced that Kevin Magnussen of Haas has received an automatic one-race ban after accumulating twelve penalty points, meaning he has been barred from driving in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Danish driver has accumulated penalty points throughout the season for causing collisions, going off-track, and holding up drivers. The final two points were added after Magnussen earned a ten-second penalty for causing a collision with Alpine's Pierre Gasly. This makes Magnussen the first Formula One driver to trigger an automatic race ban under the current penalty points system. 

Formula One coverage on Vintage & Coupe will resume with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend from September 13th to 15th.