As McLaren enters Formula 1’s 2025 championship-deciding race with both of its racers in the running for the world title against Max Verstappen, the spotlight is on a particular set of guidelines: the “tangerine regulations.”
This expression was created by team leader Andrea Stella – “Andrea enjoys inventing different names for various concepts,” Lando Norris remarked – and initially surfaced on September 1, 2024, preceding the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris and Oscar Piastri secured the initial row on the starting grid at Monza, a location known for frequent first-corner incidents.
“Concerning the approach to the initial turn, we consistently advocate for adhering to the ‘competing under the tangerine regulations’,” Stella stated. “Care is always exercised with any rival, but if the vehicle sports tangerine coloring, even heightened caution is exercised, as we must ensure, especially with the car demonstrating such competitive prowess, that we reach the checkered flag.
“We endeavor to distance ourselves from the perspective that a teammate constitutes the primary competitor, as such a viewpoint proves unproductive.”
On the race’s first lap, Piastri maneuvered around Norris on the outside in Variante della Roggia, remarkably seizing the lead, which unsettled his teammate and resulted in him ceding the second position to Charles Leclerc – a less-than-ideal outcome considering Norris’s continued, albeit slim, title prospects.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38 battles with Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
When questioned regarding the clarification of tangerine regulations after the event, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown conveyed to Sky: “The tangerine regulations denote acknowledging your teammate, engaging in intense yet fair competition, and refraining from contact. This transpired. It represented an assertive pass, prompting discussion, and inducing a degree of anxiety on the pit wall. Fundamentally, it underscores respecting your teammate.”
Subsequently probed on whether Piastri’s action adhered to the tangerine regulations, Stella responded: “We must deliberate jointly with the drivers, analyze recordings, grasp their perspectives, and then collectively ascertain whether comprehensive compliance was maintained or otherwise.
“We shall assimilate insights, should any be derived, and subsequently refine the tangerine regulations to facilitate the optimal pursuit of both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.”
In essence, the initial tangerine regulations were primarily focused on preventing collisions between the McLaren drivers.
“Tangerine regulations function as an expedited means for a race engineer to remind our drivers of our aversion to any contact between the two tangerine vehicles, fostering respectful competition devoid of undue risks,” Stella clarified the subsequent weekend on Sky. “The overarching subject of championship pursuit falls outside the purview of the tangerine regulations.”
In simpler terms, it was not intended to function as team directives. Nevertheless, the media, followed by the broader paddock, promptly interpreted tangerine regulations as such, as Piastri’s potential contribution to Norris’s 2024 title aspirations underwent extensive deliberation.
Heading into the 2025 season’s commencement, Norris proclaimed: “Presently, there exist no tangerine regulations, absolutely none. We possess unrestricted racing autonomy.”
The precise subject of his declaration lacked perfect clarity.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Subsequently, circumstances intensified as Norris collided with Piastri during the Canadian Grand Prix.
“In the ensuing period, we must delve into the prerequisites for ensuring the maintenance of requisite margins during racing activities,” Stella articulated. “We shall engage in discourse, potentially of a demanding nature.”
Two weeks afterward, Piastri nearly collided with his teammate in Austria. His race engineer, Tom Stallard, cautioned him via radio communication: “The pit wall has assessed the maneuver at Turn 4 as excessively borderline. A recurrence is unacceptable.” This implied the move entailed undue risk based on tangerine regulation benchmarks, despite Brown characterizing it as an “epic battle”.
Then, during the following weekend, the inaugural instance of impartiality arose. Piastri, then in the lead, received a 10-second penalty for erratic braking during safety car conditions at Silverstone. “I dispute the fairness of the preceding penalty. A reversal of positions for a competitive rematch seems warranted,” he proposed. McLaren opted against issuing a team order.
Piastri did acknowledge after the race that swapping places with Norris ‘wouldn’t have been particularly fair’ as “Lando didn’t do anything wrong”, but it highlighted the escalating strain within McLaren as it sought to manage the title contenders, separated by a mere eight points.
During an interview with Motorsport over the summer recess, Piastri emphasized: “The narrative surrounding tangerine regulations has consistently been more elaborate than their actual substance. The regulations fundamentally comprise one directive: avoid collisions between teammates.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Stella echoed this position as F1 resumed at Zandvoort, albeit with a qualifier: “They possess racing autonomy in the sense that we aim to afford them the opportunity to showcase their capabilities, their talents, and their ambitions; however, these endeavors should consistently remain within the framework of prioritizing the team’s interests, which may assume distinct connotations depending on the prevailing circumstances.”
A situation of this nature presented itself the following weekend at Monza, where McLaren exerted maximum effort to sustain its drivers’ respective positions – Norris in second and Piastri in third – during their concluding pit stops, only for a bungled tire replacement to relegate Norris to a lower rank. Subsequently, the Australian received a request to cede his position.
Piastri adopted a defiant tone via radio communication: “We agreed that a sluggish pit stop constitutes part of racing, so I fail to comprehend the rationale behind the alteration.” Post-race, his narrative experienced a degree of modification, as he characterized the directive as “a fair request”.
Norris made contact with Piastri at the start in Singapore while passing his teammate, which McLaren addressed by granting Piastri preferential status in selecting the sequence for exiting the pits during qualifying at Austin. However, the team reversed course following Piastri’s prominent role in a Turn 1 incident during the sprint race the subsequent day, in which Norris became entangled – though it predominantly constituted a racing incident.
Finally, during the penultimate event of the season in Qatar, McLaren committed a significant strategic error when the safety car neutralized the race, apparently uncertain about the appropriate course of action that would not unduly favor one driver over another. Piastri and Norris had been running first and third, respectively, but ultimately finished second and fourth as Verstappen secured victory and advanced closer in the championship.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images
Consequently, Norris enters the championship-deciding event leading Verstappen by 12 points and Piastri by 16. Although the latter theoretically possesses racing autonomy, Brown has asserted that he would be requested to cede his position if such a decision would secure the title.
“We intend to commence the weekend adhering to the principles we have followed across the preceding 23 events, which entails granting both drivers equitable opportunities,” the American explained. “Subsequently, we shall exercise judicious judgment. We have no intention of relinquishing a drivers’ championship over a sixth- and seventh-place finish, a third- and fourth-place finish, or a fifth- and sixth-place finish.
“If one of our drivers lacks the opportunity, I believe that all of our actions are executed in collaboration with the drivers. Consequently, they possess comprehensive awareness of the strategic framework for the weekend, and, external to our racing team, one is invariably subject to criticism irrespective of the course of action selected. We intend to uphold our racing tenets. Our objective encompasses securing the constructors’ title, a feat we have already accomplished. We aspire to claim the drivers’ title, and we shall observe the unfolding dynamics of the race.”
Thus, as the Abu Dhabi GP transpires, the tangerine regulations, characterized by ‘distinct connotations depending on the prevailing circumstances’ – as articulated by Stella – will undoubtedly prove advantageous.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
