Oscar Piastri has "a No1 contract" with no "you need to help Lando Norris" clause

The impact of future McLaren team orders will be a “hard ask”, Nico Rosberg has warned.

The ‘papaya rules’ - McLaren’s refusal to treat either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri as their priority driver - were criticised at last weekend’s F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Norris and Piastri battled for position on the first lap, but ultimately Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won at Monza.

McLaren have hinted that they might reassess their team orders as the drivers’ and constructors’ championship battles get closer.

Norris is 62 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, and McLaren are just eight points adrift of Red Bull in the constructors’.

Rosberg told the Sky F1 podcast: “In Lando’s situation you want to win races on merit and not because your teammate helps you.

“Turn 4, for example? You wouldn’t see it as your teammate helping you if the team said ‘calm down, hold position to keep the Ferraris behind’.”

Rosberg added: “It is hard on Oscar. Because he will have a No 1 contract.

“It won’t say in his contract ‘you need to help Lando’.

“He’s driving brilliantly also. He deserves every opportunity to get race wins.

“Mathematically he can still be world champion. He’s not that far behind Lando.

“It’s a hard ask for Oscar to start forfeiting race wins, potentially.”

McLaren orders 'go against their DNA'

Norris has won grands prix in Miami and the Netherlands this season, and Piastri won in Hungary.

Piastri’s Hungary win saw McLaren implement a team order to race-leader Norris, demanding he allowed his teammate through. Norris eventually complied.

Rosberg was asked why McLaren are now forced to rethink their philosophy midseason, and he said: “The situation is totally unexpected to them. Their DNA is to go racing with two No1s with equal opportunity.

“They didn’t see this coming at all. It’s a big learning process for them.

“It’s a big requirement to think about, and to see what the best approach is.

“It goes against their DNA which is two No1 drivers with the same opportunity.”

Rosberg insisted that McLaren could not have planned for Norris and Piastri to be so closely challenging Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.

He said the team were unable to change their team orders philosophy earlier because of their sharp rise to form.

“Maybe it was early because nobody thought Lando had a real chance at the championship,” he said.

“Certainly now, because it’s so clear. They are the favourites in the constructors’ championship, and the drivers’ championship is a real possibility.

“Both Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, clearly, are starting to think strongly about it.”