Five talking points ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

‘Papaya rules’ not OK for Norris

McLaren has a problem. You might say a nice problem – but it’s a thorny one all the same: an MCL38 that’s now the F1 benchmark, driven by two young, hungry and equally matched drivers who both want to make the most of what they have underneath them. The trouble is only one of them is a contender for the world championship.

Lando Norris lies 62 points behind Max Verstappen, which is a chasm with eight races to play – but one that perhaps isn’t insurmountable given Red Bull’s droop in form. Oscar Piastri, more than 100 points down on the three-time world champion, is too far out of reach – but the sophomore will be key to McLaren’s constructors’ title hopes (the team is just eight points down on Red Bull now) and has little interest in supporting Norris.

Unless he is told to, that is. And that’s the key talking point in the wake of McLaren openly referring to its “papaya rules” policy during the Italian Grand Prix. Given how Piastri aggressively charged past Norris into Monza’s Roggia chicane on lap one, at the risk of a painful collision, the rule appears to be ‘race free, just don’t collide’. But is that really the best policy in the circumstances? Norris would have every right to say it isn’t.

We hate team orders, of course we do. But when a drivers’ world title is on the line this late into the season, McLaren surely has to reset its priorities. But whatever it decides, the team will likely cause angst for one of its drivers. It must tread carefully, just as F1 arrives at one of the fastest and most demanding street tracks in the world, where collisions and mistakes are all too common and easy to blunder into.

Verstappen: keep calm and carry on

He’s said what he’s had to say about Red Bull’s alarming plight, now it’s up to the team to fix it. That was Verstappen’s message at Monza where he seemed to accept that sixth place from seventh on the grid was all he could muster in the circumstances.

Christian Horner has dismissed the suggestion Red Bull losing the plot has been timed precisely with Adrian Newey announcing his departure. It’s a team game, he says, and one person can’t have that amount of influence so abruptly. Perhaps – but the timing of Red Bull’s fall after so much domination is awkward. The constructors’ crown might well slip away now, given McLaren’s form. But surely level heads and a sound plan of how to rein in the wayward RB20 will get Verstappen over the line for his fourth consecutive crown. Although if any track can cause a failure to finish, it’s tricky Baku.

Pérez won here last time

It seems an awful long time ago now. But the last time F1 raced in Azerbaijan, in May 2023, Sergio Pérez came away with a victory in which he beat team-mate Verstappen with the aid of a handily-timed safety car. In the early races of last season that made it two each for the Red Bulls, triggering talk that was always wishful thinking that the Mexican could actually push his team-mate for the world crown.

He hasn’t won a race since. And now Pérez looks nowhere near, given how difficult it’s proving to tame the RB20. All he can do now is cling on to his drive. Baku would be the perfect place, given his record of two wins here, for ‘Checo’ to rediscover his mojo.

Ferrari in the mix

Would Lewis Hamilton now be having regrets about his move to Ferrari for 2025? That was the shortsighted question some were asking around the summer break. Ferrari had, after all, fallen off the pace in the wake of Charles Leclerc’s home win in Monaco and Mercedes was bang on it. Such is the mayfly nature of form.

Ferrari has been struggling with the dreaded bounce effect that’s been a blight with these modern F1 cars. But with a new floor and other upgrades it was less of a problem for the red cars at Monza, where Leclerc played a blinder on a one-stop strategy to catch the McLarens on the hop. What scenes they were on the podium.

Now Ferrari is just 31 points down on McLaren in the constructors’ standings, 39 off Red Bull’s lead, with those eight races to go. Baku and Singapore that follows could well suit the characteristics of the SF-24, if indeed the team has solved or at least improved the dreaded bounce. Might Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. have what it takes to drag Ferrari into the teams’ championship mix? It’s looking possible.

Newey’s Aston deal goes public

F1’s worst-kept secret has been announced: Adrian Newey will join Aston Martin in 2025.

In truth, the team could do with his input right now, given the alarming form that has left Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll scraping for points on the outskirts of the top ten (at best). Then again, one person can’t have that much influence so quickly on a team’s form, can they? Must be true, Mr Horner said so…

Aston’s struggles this term are puzzling, especially in the wake of how strong the team was in the early months of 2023. Long-term, the potential remains huge, even without the significant added bonus of Newey coming on board. The new factory and wind tunnel at Silverstone; the resources provided by Lawrence Stroll and a strong portfolio of sponsors; a fantastically fruitful recruitment drive (again, even when you don’t include Newey); the prospect of works Honda engines in 2026 – it all adds up to a potent combination. But again, why the poor form now? There’s really no excuse.

Fernando Alonso has certainly retreated into a general state of glumness. At 43, will the arrival of Newey come too late for him, or will the design genius who has won titles with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull – but has yet to work with Alonso – inject fresh energy and impetus that the two-time world champion can harness next season? Perhaps. But right now, the 2024 season has turned into a frustrating slog for the green team.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.