Did Papaya Rules panic McLaren into critical strategy error?

It has been suggested that McLaren’s determination to follow Papaya Rules led to their costly strategy blunder at the Qatar Grand Prix.

McLaren were left at a major strategic disadvantage to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after failing to pit either race leader Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris from third during an early Safety Car period.

With McLaren’s rivals taking the opportunity to come in, Piastri and Norris were left needing to pass Verstappen on track. Piastri ultimately trailed Verstappen by eight seconds at the chequered flag, while Norris could only finish fourth.

During the race, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok questioned whether McLaren’s Papaya Rules ultimately hurt them.

"I truly believe today was a prime example where McLaren should have had a one-two,” Chandhok said.

"They did not split the strategy. That emphasis on trying to keep it equal perhaps, by not bringing both cars in, they have allowed Max to jump ahead."

Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit and former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins also suggested the same.

"Piastri had a three-second gap to Verstappen. With that advantage, I don't understand for Oscar Piastri, if it was a standalone car, why you wouldn't pit,” she said.

"For Lando Norris, it's a little more difficult. He has to stack with his team-mate, open a gap, how many positions will he lose?

"If you ask about Papaya Rules, hesitation in stacking Norris and holding him back from potentially achieving everything he could, has hurt.

“Only McLaren internally know the real answer to that. They have a lot to go through.”

Norris dismisses Papaya Rules claim

Norris, whose championship lead has been cut to 12 points over Verstappen, firmly rejected the idea that McLaren's Papaya Rules were to blame.

"It's nothing to do with that,” he insisted. “Everyone keeps thinking that, but it's got nothing to do with that. We're free to race.

"Red Bull were just as quick today as they were yesterday. They did a better job as a team and made the right call. That's it.

"We'll review things, see what we could have done better. We already know - we didn't make the right decision. You can't get them all right, you know.”

Martin Brundle also disagreed with his Sky Sports F1 colleagues.

"I don’t think papaya rules cost McLaren. I think they just read it wrong,” he explained. "They thought they would get a Safety Car opportunity later on, they wanted that flexibility.

"Pretty much everybody else doubled stacked. Andrea made a point that he thought half the field would stay out, because were right on the cusp – lap seven was the first point where pitting made sense.

"They misunderstood it all and got it wrong. It would have hurt Lando Norris stacking. Who knows whether they could have fed them out?

"I don’t think that was on their mind. I think they thought they were doing the right thing strategically for the race to keep that flexibility later on.

"But the tyres didn’t fall apart and Max Verstappen was plenty fast enough."