Max Verstappen tears apart McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ after F1 title win

The four-time world champion labelled the McLaren call as ‘nonsense’ in a post-season interview

Max Verstappen has decreed McLaren’s use of their “papaya rules” instruction for team orders during the 2024 F1 season as “nonsense” in a recent post-season interview.

The four-time world champion was involved in a title tussle with McLaren’s Lando Norris for most of the season, before sealing his fourth successive title in Las Vegas.

McLaren, meanwhile, were criticised by the likes of Nico Rosberg for their “papaya rules” instruction, which told Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri to take “extra care” when racing against each other.

And Red Bull’s Verstappen, who in the end finished 63 points above runner-up Norris, also dismissed the unique team order.

“This is another nonsense quote,” Verstappen told Dutch broadcaster Viaplay, when asked about the phrase.

“Papaya rules? That’s totally useless to me.

“If I heard that from my engineer, I’d tell him to just shut up immediately. What kind of nonsense is this?

Max Verstappen picked up his 2024 F1 championship trophy at the FIA prize-giving ceremony on Friday (FIA/DPPI via Getty Images)

“’You’re allowed to race’ is fine, you know, they could have solved this in a way easier and better way as a team.”

Verstappen will be eyeing a fifth straight championship when the 2025 season gets underway on 16 March in Australia.

However, the Dutchman is still awaiting confirmation of his teammate for 2025, amid speculation that Sergio Perez is set to lose his seat to Liam Lawson.