McLaren team boss Andrea Stella continues to rule out favoring one of their drivers, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri, in the race for the world championship. The team remains committed to a fair fight for the title, the so-called ‘papaya rules’, even though Max Verstappen is now only 24 points behind championship leader Lando Norris.
Following the double disqualification of both McLarens in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen is now level with Oscar Piastri – at 366 points – and is 24 points behind world championship leader Lando Norris. Stella emphasizes that the team will still not favor one of the drivers in the fight for the world title. “No, there is no reason for that,” he responded to the question of whether anything would change in the management of the drivers. “We have always said that, as long as the math does not indicate otherwise, we leave it to the two drivers to fight for their chance of the overall victory. And that’s how it will be in Qatar as well.”
Stella stressed that the team can look back on the season so far with satisfaction. “Let’s not forget: if someone had told us at the beginning of the season that we would be in this situation with two races to go, we would have signed up for it immediately! Now we are going to fight for the double world championship with full confidence and awareness of our strength.”
Showdown in the Desert
With two more Grands Prix and a sprint race to go, McLaren is sticking to a fair fight between the drivers. Norris leads the championship with 390 points, while his teammate and title rival Piastri is 24 points behind. Verstappen is also 24 points behind Norris. The Brit can become champion next weekend in Qatar, provided he has a lead of 26 points or more after the Grand Prix. Thanks to both the sprint race and the Grand Prix, Piastri and Verstappen still have plenty of opportunities to make significant gains on the championship leader.
