Piastri v Norris' 'tame' title fight compared to McLaren drivers' feud

The championship battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris has been rather tame compared to McLaren’s former rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Heading into Mexico City, Piastri leads Norris in the Drivers’ Standings by just 14 points, and the pendulum could swing either way.

At this stage in the season, fans would expect a title fight to be fierce and cutthroat, but both McLaren drivers are stuck playing the ‘good guy’ role.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri celebrating McLaren's constructors' title in Singapore - Photo: Race Pictures

As far as title fights go, McLaren has had their fair share of turmoil with inner team battles.

The British team are not new to this scenario, and it is oddly similar to the 2007 title fight where Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonnen usurped McLaren’s glory.

Raikkonnen managed to close an 18-point deficit in the final two races of the season, clinching the championship in the season finale.

Alonso, however, has recently refuted these comparisons, saying: “I don’t know, let’s see how it goes to Abu Dhabi.

“These things can change quickly, race after race or even day after day.

“Free practice, we have a feeling, then in qualifying we have the opposite feeling and then on the race it depends how it unfolds.

“You can have a different contender, but let’s see in Abu Dhabi. But I don’t think the situation is that similar to 2007, I disagree.”

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McLaren’s Drivers’ Championship has been called into question recently, with neither driver having won a race in the last four rounds.

To make matters worse, Max Verstappen has been in excellent form lately and has reinvigorated his chances of earning his fifth consecutive title.

The Dutchman has outscored both of the McLaren title contenders since the summer break, now sitting only 40 points behind Piastri.

While it may not be a Ferrari fighting McLaren for the title, the situation is eerily similar to 2007, with Verstappen emerging as the one to beat.

It is so much so that Hamilton chimed in, warning the McLaren duo that they must be “cutthroat” in order to compete with the Dutchman.

Hamilton told Sky Sports: “You really have to be cut-throat, and that is what Max is. He is going to take this from them if they don’t do the same.

“Max has won it four times so he knows what it’s like and being the hunter is much easier than being the defender.”

Would papaya rules have worked in the Hamilton/Alonso era?

The answer is, absolutely not.

McLaren's 'papaya rules' do not seem to be part of the team's heritage, with the term being unheard of during Hamilton and Alonso's era.

Alonso embarked on the 2007 season as McLaren's number 1 driver but by the middle of the season, Hamilton was leading the championship and receiving better strategic options.

In one of their many infamous clashes, Hamilton refused to let Alonso pass him during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session.

Alonso responded by blocking Hamilton in the pit lane ahead of his final run, securing pole position before receiving a five-place grid penalty.

Their feud developed throughout the season, with the pairing clashing at Spa, Fuji, and China and essentially handing the championship to Raikkonnen, who is still Ferrari's last champion.

Team orders have always been a controversial topic, though, with the team facing investigation for their strategy at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren ordered Alonso and Hamilton to hold position after their first round of pit stops to secure a 1-2 finish for the team.

It was illegal in F1 to use team orders to influence the outcome of a race, and McLaren insisted that the order was to "protect the advantage" of the team rather than influence the race.

However, team orders stopped being illegal in 2010 and have since developed into broader meanings for each team.

'Papaya rules' are not clear-cut or consistent, and seem to frustrate each of their current drivers with different strategic choices being made to suit the better-performing driver in each race.

With the advice given from both former McLaren drivers, Piastri and Norris have to step it up if they are to avoid the same fate as that dreary 2007 season.