McLaren has admitted the team might have to change its approach to introducing upgrades to avoid disadvantaging either driver’s Formula 1 championship chances.
The Woking-based squad’s phenomenal start to the season continued last weekend in Bahrain as Oscar Piastri headed another double podium with a dominant drive.
Piastri’s win has propelled him up into second, three points behind team-mate Lando Norris, while McLaren boasts a 58-point lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
The developing title battle between the McLaren duo prompted boss Andrea Stella to be quizzed on whether the team will have to change how it integrates new parts.
Since McLaren’s current pairing was established in 2023, Norris has tended to have the team’s more pronounced updates installed on his car one race prior to Piastri.
Stella disclosed that McLaren had yet to decide on how it would handle the impending situation, although he hinted that it would depend on the extent of the upgrade.
“We will have to see,” Stella told select media including Motorsport Week post-race. “We will have to see, first of all, what is actually the upgrade.
“Because if the upgrade is a front wing, a rear wing, you don’t have to necessarily split cars, because it’s less of an involved change.
“The reason why we were going one car at a time in the past is because it was a big change which had involved even changes of the mechanical side, the systems under the bodywork.”
McLaren has upgrades in the pipeline
Stella revealed that McLaren has developments planned in the pipeline, but he conceded that there are no plans to bring them to the circuit over the upcoming events.
“We have an idea, obviously, because we are working in the ground and we are just about to pull the trigger in terms of delivery of the next upgrades, which doesn’t mean they will come in a few races, not in the short term,” he communicated.
Norris and Piastri to be given equal tools
The Italian also highlighted that McLaren’s approach will also hinge on whether the team continues to preserve the current edge that it harbours over the competition.
In the circumstance where that remains the case, Stella indicated that McLaren will ensure that both drivers are given equal tools in their quest to seize a maiden title.
“And it will also depend on how we are doing from a performance point of view,” he pinpointed.
“If the car keeps being such a strong car, then we might have to take a more considerate approach and make sure that we are not creating any imbalance in relation to the fairness with drivers.”
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