[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":269},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f3kt5p3rwpoj6y":3,"$f2js9i8kjwrq3":42},{"navigation":4,"tagline":41},[5,9,13,17,21,25,29,33,37],{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"#0C2478","world-news-and-current-affairs","World News & Current Affairs",{"accentColor":10,"slug":11,"title":12},"#A40C2C","social-commentary-and-opinion","Social Commentary & Opinion",{"accentColor":14,"slug":15,"title":16},"#A44800","arts-and-culture","Arts & Culture",{"accentColor":18,"slug":19,"title":20},"#877A00","science-and-technology","Science & Technology",{"accentColor":22,"slug":23,"title":24},"#2F7D32","school-life","School Life",{"accentColor":26,"slug":27,"title":28},"#8248C4","interviews","Interviews",{"accentColor":30,"slug":31,"title":32},"#00766C","wellness-and-self-care","Wellness & Self-Care",{"accentColor":34,"slug":35,"title":36},"#1669A6","academic-resources","Academic Resources",{"accentColor":38,"slug":39,"title":40},"#A3306F","creative-writing","Creative Writing","Words have the power to change the world, so we’ve been choosing them carefully for 19 years.",{"_id":43,"authors":44,"body":51,"bylineOverride":47,"dek":172,"heroImage":173,"moreFromSection":189,"printEdition":260,"publishedAt":264,"section":265,"seoDescription":47,"seoTitle":47,"slug":266,"tags":47,"title":267,"wordCount":268},"article-papaya-rules-when-team-orders-backfire",[45],{"_id":46,"bio":47,"name":48,"photo":47,"role":49,"slug":50},"author-rozalie-slamova",null,"Rozálie Slámová","Editor-in-Chief and Design Editor","rozalie-slamova",[52,72,80,88,96,104,112,120,128,136,144,152,160,164],{"_key":53,"_type":54,"children":55,"markDefs":70,"style":71},"8992c5b4cb5b","block",[56,61,66],{"_key":57,"_type":58,"marks":59,"text":60},"da1266611db6","span",[],"In the closing laps of last year’s Italian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri was asked to do something most competitive drivers would find unthinkable: relinquish a hard-won position to his own teammate. Moments earlier the Australian had used a well-timed pit stop to jump ahead of Lando Norris after the Briton’s crew fumbled a wheel change. “Is a slow pit stop part of racing?” he asked over the radio in disbelief. The answer, according to the McLaren pit wall, was no; Piastri moved aside and Norris reclaimed second place. That radio exchange sums up the problem many fans have with McLaren’s so-called “",{"_key":62,"_type":58,"marks":63,"text":65},"570f2be5390e",[64],"em","Papaya Rules",{"_key":67,"_type":58,"marks":68,"text":69},"2379c19b5bc8",[],"”.",[],"normal",{"_key":73,"_type":54,"children":74,"markDefs":79,"style":71},"4d4b53bc4cbc",[75],{"_key":76,"_type":58,"marks":77,"text":78},"8362b8039428",[],"For those not steeped in Formula 1 jargon, team orders are instructions from a team to its drivers that dictate how they should race against each other. Teams usually invoke them to avoid collisions, preserve tyres, or maximise points. McLaren gave its own codified version a catchy name: the Papaya Rules, named after the orange hue of its cars.",[],{"_key":81,"_type":54,"children":82,"markDefs":87,"style":71},"8f82e6bc249b",[83],{"_key":84,"_type":58,"marks":85,"text":86},"d1d72847b713",[],"Team principal Andrea Stella has repeatedly insisted that McLaren’s racing principles are built on fairness, integrity and equal opportunity. In early 2026, he said the team had reviewed its policies and reaffirmed that fairness and sportsmanship were “fundamental for the team, for Lando and for Oscar”. The aim, he said, was to allow both drivers to race freely while preventing unnecessary risk and ensuring the team maximises points for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. On paper, the rules promise parity and transparency: the lead car normally gets pit stop priority; no driver should impede the other, and any position swaps caused by pit- stop anomalies should be reversed when safe. In reality, however-, the application of these principles has been anything but consistent, creating a perception that the younger Piastri is expected to compromise more often than his more established teammate. Even if McLaren’s intentions are honourable, the optics create suspicion.",[],{"_key":89,"_type":54,"children":90,"markDefs":95,"style":71},"682d0c37c95c",[91],{"_key":92,"_type":58,"marks":93,"text":94},"9a1f034d4867",[],"Maintaining trust requires fairness, not just the appearance of fairness.",[],{"_key":97,"_type":54,"children":98,"markDefs":103,"style":71},"a9da66fb47e8",[99],{"_key":100,"_type":58,"marks":101,"text":102},"fdcffbcfc578",[],"Let’s look at the Italian Grand Prix moment. Piastri had fallen behind Norris in qualifying and spent most of the race in third place, nursing his tyres. That was until the sunbaked asphalt of the Autodromo Nazionale witnessed a 5.9-second tyre change that dropped teammate Lando Norris behind him, letting Piastri advance to second place. The undercut was legal and earned on merit, but the team considered it an unintended consequence of deviating from the usual pit order. Piastri was told to move aside as soon as possible, and the Australian asked whether it was truly necessary to give the place back. “There were clearly valid reasons,” he said afterwards, acknowledging that Norris had been ahead all weekend, but he added that “there’s just some things we need to discuss”. When Norris’s slow pit stop let Piastri emerge ahead, McLaren’s justification was that because Norris had deferred the undercut to protect himself from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the situation mirrored an earlier race in Hungary and the cars should revert to their pre-stop order.",[],{"_key":105,"_type":54,"children":106,"markDefs":111,"style":71},"87c947105e54",[107],{"_key":108,"_type":58,"marks":109,"text":110},"66f19cefeffe",[],"In that moment, Piastri’s question wasn’t about pit strategy – it was the cry of a racer whose hard-earned pass was being erased by the rules of his own team.",[],{"_key":113,"_type":54,"children":114,"markDefs":119,"style":71},"3012c8e25e44",[115],{"_key":116,"_type":58,"marks":117,"text":118},"34634f6a5e77",[],"Contrast that with the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks later. On a damp Marina Bay circuit, Norris started fifth, two places behind Piastri. At the first meaningful braking zone he tagged Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at Turn 3, then banged wheels with Piastri to emerge ahead in third place. “That wasn’t very teamlike… are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?” Piastri asked over the radio. There was no immediate team order to swap back; Norris went on to finish third while Piastri, having lost places, had to accept a post-race promise of unspecified “repercussions” for his teammate. McLaren later said the incident wasn’t how it wanted to race and that Norris had taken responsibility, but whatever punishment existed remained private. Those two examples would be enough to raise eyebrows, but the pattern continued.",[],{"_key":121,"_type":54,"children":122,"markDefs":127,"style":71},"938dc5394185",[123],{"_key":124,"_type":58,"marks":125,"text":126},"d2b8f57a2e4d",[],"Even when stewards, rather than McLaren, penalised Piastri, the Papaya framework still seemed to work against him. At the British Grand Prix he led through heavy rain and a safety-car period. When the lights on the safety car were extinguished he braked hard — pressing 59.2 psi and slowing from 218 kph to 52 kph, according to telemetry — to avoid running into Verstappen. The stewards deemed that “erratic braking” and handed him a ten-second penalty that dropped him behind Norris at the pit stops. Over the radio, Piastri asked if McLaren might switch the cars back once the penalty had been applied. “I thought I would ask the question,” he said, later acknowledging he knew the answer would be no. When Norris had been delayed by a slow pit stop at Monza, the team had intervened to restore order; when Piastri was slowed by a harsh penalty at Silverstone, the team let the race play out. Stella admitted the penalty was harsh, but said McLaren could not override the stewards’ decision. For many fans, the juxtaposition was yet another piece of evidence of Piastri being asked to take one for the team.",[],{"_key":129,"_type":54,"children":130,"markDefs":135,"style":71},"abea50534df1",[131],{"_key":132,"_type":58,"marks":133,"text":134},"0de41f779b90",[],"Perhaps the biggest source of frustration is that Piastri has generally complied without fuss. At the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, he secured his maiden win after Norris eventually obeyed a team order to let him through, but only after a tense radio exchange in which Norris muttered “well, you should have pitted him first” and was told “you’re going to need Oscar and the team” if he wanted to win the championship. Later that year, Piastri handed Norris a sprint-race victory in Brazil without complaint, a gesture both drivers acknowledged was partly about preserving harmony in a title fight. His restraint has allowed McLaren to maintain a veneer of equality, yet it has also exposed how much trust is being asked of him.",[],{"_key":137,"_type":54,"children":138,"markDefs":143,"style":71},"cf20043e2523",[139],{"_key":140,"_type":58,"marks":141,"text":142},"523a56ac9f55",[],"Context matters. Norris, for his part, is McLaren’s longest-serving driver and delivered the team’s first wins since the lean years. It is understandable that the team sees him as the best chance at the drivers’ title. Early in their partnership, the roles were even reversed: at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris reluctantly moved aside to give Piastri his maiden victory after being reminded over the radio that he would need his teammate’s help later in the year. Piastri later returned the favour, yielding a sprint win in Brazil without complaint. There is a genuine camaraderie between them. Norris apologised after hitting Piastri in Canada and took the blame. The Papaya Rules were conceived to preserve that harmony while still giving McLaren the best chance to beat Red Bull and Ferrari. That context offers a plausible defence: McLaren is merely doing what Red Bull did with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber or what Ferrari did with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, prioritising the driver most likely to bring home the title. But McLaren also wants to be seen as different. Stella has argued repeatedly that the team does not want to designate a number one and a number two and that equal opportunity is part of its culture. By promising fairness and then appearing to favour one driver in the grey areas, the team risks damaging both its image and its relationship with the driver it is asking to wait his turn.",[],{"_key":145,"_type":54,"children":146,"markDefs":151,"style":71},"8a453a7650bc",[147],{"_key":148,"_type":58,"marks":149,"text":150},"d1bde63c2e42",[],"However, there is a reason fans continue to dissect those crackling radio messages. They capture the visceral reality of drivers strapped into 800-horsepower machines, fighting for tenths of a second and being told to weigh team strategy against personal glory. Piastri’s questions are not tantrums; they are the sound of a young driver trying to understand his place in a team that says both drivers are equal yet so often asks him to yield. Norris’s irritation in Hungary and his subsequent admissions show the pressure of chasing a title while keeping a teammate on side. In a sport where trust within teams can be the difference between winning and losing, perceived inequities carry real consequences. If Piastri feels he is being sacrificed for a teammate’s benefit, how long before he stops sacrificing? If fans lose faith in McLaren’s commitment to equality, how long before the Papaya Rules become punchline? Each snippet reveals the human cost of a rigidly managed intra-team rivalry.",[],{"_key":153,"_type":54,"children":154,"markDefs":159,"style":71},"380dbf58a442",[155],{"_key":156,"_type":58,"marks":157,"text":158},"cf1893553d18",[],"In the end, the engines will keep screaming, the lap times will keep tumbling, and the points will continue to matter. But if the Papaya Rules bend depending on which driver benefits, they risk undermining the trust that makes two-car teams work.",[],{"_key":161,"_type":162,"text":163},"16692cd1c888","pullQuote","But if the Papaya Rules bend depending on which driver benefits, they risk undermining the trust that makes two-car teams work.",{"_key":165,"_type":54,"children":166,"markDefs":171,"style":71},"9a1f9d0f7d24",[167],{"_key":168,"_type":58,"marks":169,"text":170},"d3edfeac9e32",[],"For all of McLaren’s talk of equal opportunity, the voices crackling over the radio tell a more complicated story. In an era where fans crave genuine racing and transparency, teams must recognise that fairness cannot be turned on and off like a pit limiter. Otherwise, the papaya-coloured veneer of equality will peel away to reveal something far more traditional: a number one and a number two.",[],"In an era where fans crave genuine racing and transparency, teams must recognise that fairness cannot be turned on and off like a pit limiter.",{"alt":174,"asset":175,"caption":178,"credit":179,"crop":180,"hotspot":183},"Oscar Piastri, team principal Andrea Stella and Lando Norris talking, all in orange McLaren team clothing.",{"_ref":176,"_type":177},"image-315b84ba656519e8c7625cf66f759e9475dfb050-656x368-jpg","reference","Oscar Piastri (left), Andrea Stella (centre) and Lando Norris (right) during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.","Kym Illman\u002FFormula 1",{"_type":181,"bottom":182,"left":182,"right":182,"top":182},"sanity.imageCrop",0,{"_type":184,"height":185,"width":186,"x":187,"y":188},"sanity.imageHotspot",0.6,0.9,0.5,0.4,[190,211,230,245],{"_id":191,"authors":192,"bylineOverride":47,"dek":196,"heroImage":197,"publishedAt":207,"section":208,"slug":209,"title":210},"article-crisis-in-czech-television-is-public-broadcasting-losing-its-independence",[193],{"name":194,"slug":195},"Matěj Diviš","matej-divis","Independent, free, and stable media are a core component of the democratic system. And losing Czech Television, as well as Czech Radio, could weaken the nation's democratic system, as well as its alignment with the country’s western partners.",{"alt":198,"asset":199,"caption":201,"credit":202,"crop":203,"hotspot":204},"Václav Moravec in a dark suit in an empty television studio, his signature projected on the floor.",{"_ref":200,"_type":177},"image-599195a1f8d0c685bf9486c8c966a7dd2525e01c-798x719-jpg","Václav Moravec on Otázky Václava Moravce, ČT1.","tv.seznam.cz",{"_type":181,"bottom":182,"left":182,"right":182,"top":182},{"_type":184,"height":185,"width":187,"x":205,"y":206},0.65,0.35,"2026-03-01T08:00:00Z",{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"crisis-in-czech-television-is-public-broadcasting-losing-its-independence","Crisis in Czech Television: Is Public Broadcasting Losing Its Independence?",{"_id":212,"authors":213,"bylineOverride":47,"dek":217,"heroImage":218,"publishedAt":226,"section":227,"slug":228,"title":229},"article-victim-or-criminal-the-controversial-case-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard",[214],{"name":215,"slug":216},"Gabriela Salata","gabriela-salata","In July 1991, Gypsy Rose Blanchard was born, an American girl who will go down in history as one of the most controversial criminals of our time.",{"alt":219,"asset":220,"caption":222,"credit":223,"crop":224,"hotspot":225},"Portraits side by side of Nicholas Godejohn, a man with a full beard, and Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a woman with long dark hair.",{"_ref":221,"_type":177},"image-589767d1dd8a4e38df884f34dad15c0b1f179cc8-570x416-jpg","Nick Godejohn; Gypsy Rose Blanchard.","Oxygen; ABC\u002FMichael Le Brecht II",{"_type":181,"bottom":182,"left":182,"right":182,"top":182},{"_type":184,"height":187,"width":186,"x":187,"y":188},"2026-03-01T07:59:00Z",{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"victim-or-criminal-the-controversial-case-of-gypsy-rose-blanchard","Victim or Criminal? The Controversial Case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard",{"_id":231,"authors":232,"bylineOverride":47,"dek":234,"heroImage":235,"publishedAt":241,"section":242,"slug":243,"title":244},"article-bigbang-burning-sun-zero-coke-and-k-pop-s-double-standard",[233],{"name":48,"slug":50},"In a Gangnam nightclub some of South Korea’s most famous male idols joked about drugging women, plotted rapes, and swapped secret sex tapes as if they were trading cards.",{"alt":236,"asset":237,"caption":239,"credit":240,"crop":47,"hotspot":47},"Seungri, in a dark suit, is escorted through a crowd of reporters holding out microphones.",{"_ref":238,"_type":177},"image-9c062d1ae425b74acccb6559f304ed5a478edeaf-777x534-jpg","Former BIGBANG member Seungri (centre), real name Lee Seung-hyun, leaves the High Court in Seoul in May.","Ed Jones, AFP\u002FGetty Images","2026-03-01T07:58:00Z",{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"bigbang-burning-sun-zero-coke-and-k-pop-s-double-standard","BIGBANG: Burning Sun, Zero-Coke, and K-Pop’s Double Standard",{"_id":246,"authors":247,"bylineOverride":47,"dek":249,"heroImage":250,"publishedAt":256,"section":257,"slug":258,"title":259},"article-inside-babis-s-cabinet-key-ministers-early-scandals-and-first-months-in-power",[248],{"name":194,"slug":195},"On 15 December 2025, Czech President Petr Pavel swore in 15 ministers of Andrej Babiš’s (ANO) third cabinet, formally launching a new government. In the months since, the cabinet has been shaped by who took which ministry, how power is divided inside the coalition, early foreign policy moves and a number of controversies.",{"alt":251,"asset":252,"caption":254,"credit":255,"crop":47,"hotspot":47},"Members of Andrej Babiš's new cabinet stand with President Petr Pavel on a staircase at Prague Castle.",{"_ref":253,"_type":177},"image-3672c81424373f13f6cf8325079318c6a3f6c32a-989x556-jpg","9 December 2025, Prague Castle: joint photo at the appointment of the government by the president.","René Volfík\u002FSeznam zprávy","2026-03-01T07:00:00Z",{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"inside-babis-s-cabinet-key-ministers-early-scandals-and-first-months-in-power","Inside Babiš's Cabinet: Key Ministers, Early Scandals and First Months in Power",{"_id":261,"editionNumber":262,"publishDate":263},"printEdition-2025-26-3",3,"2026-03-01","2026-03-01T07:57:00Z",{"accentColor":6,"slug":7,"title":8},"papaya-rules-when-team-orders-backfire","Papaya Rules: When Team Orders Backfire",1480,1790340043026]