Papaya Pitwall

FP2 in Madrid is complete, and it was a very mixed session for the Papaya boys — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.  Oscar got another important session under his belt and finished P7 , improving slightly from FP1. Lando, however, didn't complete a single lap after a gearbox change kept him in the garage. At a brand-new circuit like Madring, losing an entire practice session is far from ideal. So, should we be worried about Lando? Is Oscar making progress? And can McLaren turn things around before qualifying?  Lando Norris — No Time Let's start with the biggest McLaren story from FP2.  Lando Norris didn't set a time.  After finishing P6 in FP1, I was looking forward to seeing whether Lando could close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari. Instead, he spent the session in the garage while McLaren carried out a gearbox change. That's frustrating at any race weekend. At a completely new circuit?  It's an even bigger problem.  Every lap around Madring gives the drivers...

 FP1 in Madrid is complete, and it's time to focus on the Papaya boys — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri! It wasn't quite the start McLaren fans would've been dreaming about. Lando finished P6, while Oscar finished P8, with Mercedes setting the pace at the front but it's only FP1 at a brand-new circuit, so is there actually anything to worry about? Let's take a look at how the Papaya boys got on. Lando Norris — P6 Let's start with Lando. P6 in FP1 .  Lando finished around eight tenths behind George Russell's fastest time. Obviously, I would've loved to see Lando immediately fighting inside the top three, but I'm not too worried about P6 yet. This is the first Formula 1 weekend at Madring, and everyone is still learning the circuit. FP1 isn't just about setting the fastest lap either. McLaren will have been gathering data, experimenting with the setup and trying to understand how the car behaves around this new track. The positive? Lando was the qui...

It’s race week again, and this time Formula 1 is heading to Madrid! That means it’s time to make my predictions for the two Papaya boys — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. There’s plenty to be excited about heading into the weekend. For McLaren, the big question is simple: can the Papaya boys fight at the front in Madrid? Here are my predictions. Lando Norris – P3  First up is Lando Norris, and I’m predicting a podium finish. I’m going with P3 for Lando. I think Lando has a great chance of putting himself into the fight at the front, particularly if McLaren can get the car dialled in early in the weekend. Qualifying could be extremely important. If Lando can get himself near the front of the grid on Saturday, I think he'll have the pace to stay in the battle throughout the race and, of course, anything can happen once the lights go out. Could Lando even challenge for the win if an opportunity comes his way? I certainly wouldn't rule it out. My prediction: Lando Norris – P3  ...

Welcome to Papaya Pitwall, my corner of the internet dedicated to all things McLaren and Formula 1. If you love the excitement of race weekends, the drama of Formula 1, the strategy battles from the pit wall and, of course, that unmistakable papaya orange, you’re in the right place. What is Papaya Pitwall? Papaya Pitwall is a place for Formula 1 fans to talk about everything happening both on and off the track. I’ll be covering McLaren, the drivers, race results, qualifying, strategy decisions, team news and some of the biggest stories from across the F1 grid. After race weekends, I’ll share my thoughts on what went right, what went wrong and those moments that leave us all shouting at the TV. There’ll also be predictions ahead of races, discussions about the championship and plenty of opinions along the way. Why Papaya Pitwall? The name comes from McLaren’s famous papaya colours combined with one of the most important places during an F1 race: the pit wall. The pit wall is where races...