Oscar Piastri Turns Victim of Preferential Treatment at McLaren as Zak Brown Favors Lando Norris in Latest Policy

When it comes to the two drivers of an F1 team, it’s often noticed that one driver is given more priority than the other. While it’s wrong to say so, this is followed by almost every team to some extent. In Ferrari, Charles Leclerc is evidently the favored driver, and for McLaren, it is Lando Norris. Although the teams might deny it, what happened at the Miami Grand Prix reflects Norris being favored.

McLaren was set to make some huge changes to the car for the Miami Grand Prix, and while one car got a complete overhaul, the other just got half the upgraded parts. And guess which driver got the half-upgraded car? Oscar Piastri! Zak Brown has often seen Lando Norris as the poster boy of McLaren, and that comes with him being favored over his Australian teammate, at least in this case.

Partiality with McLaren’s upgrades helps Lando Norris

A recent update from Speedcafe breaks down an interview with McLaren Team boss Andrea Stella, where he talks about the upgrades done to the cars for Miami. After the Miami Grand Prix Day 1 Stella stated, “We have upgraded one car 100 percent and the other car sort of 50 percent.” Piastri, as a result, got the less favorable end of the deal.

The team boss explained, “We obviously tested a combination of the upgrades and still there was enough communication between the parts of the car that it was possible to upgrade with 50 percent.” He then explained why the other car was only half upgraded, saying, “It is not really a shortage of parts, it is that the upgrades require quite a lot of work.” 

Image Courtesy: Imago
L: Oscar Piastri R: Lando Norris

To not sound biased, he further defended his decision by saying, “We need to prove out that they work from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view, that’s why you only go with one car. It is not only the back-to-back why you split.” In Formula 1, small changes go a long way, and to be able to change almost every aspect of the car comes with the risk of losing performance.

Breaking down the reason for McLaren’s decision, Andrea Stella added, “The changes in this kind of upgrade to side pods and floor is very involved in terms of the design and in terms of building the car and so on, so you also do it to make sure everything runs reliably.”

But, to everyone’s surprise, Oscar Piastri took his chances and turned out to be the fastest McLaren. While Norris had a complete overhaul, he was the 9th fastest in the sprint shootout, while Piastri will be starting the sprint race 6th on the grid. Do you believe that McLaren was just testing the changes?

Changes that McLaren introduced in the MCL38

Last year, things started off slow for McLaren, with their performance in the first half being less than impressive. That all changed when they introduced their upgrades at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and started to see results when Norris got his upgrades at the Austrian Grand Prix. So will this year’s upgrades give the team a huge benefit in the races?

So far, there have been many upgrades that McLaren has worked on for the Miami Grand Prix. The MCL38’s components have been updated with significant geometric revisions to enhance performance and flow conditioning. The front wing, suspension, and corner feature new designs to optimize airflow. In addition to that, the floor body and sidepod inlet have been redesigned to increase overall load and improve airflow to the rear.

The coke/engine cover now boasts new bodywork for enhanced efficiency. Cooling louvers have been adjusted to match changes in airflow. The rear suspension and corner components have been updated for improved onset flow and load gain. Lastly, a new offloaded beam wing design efficiently manages loading between the beam wing and rear wing for specific track conditions.

That being said, do you think that these upgrades will be enough for McLaren to contest Ferrari for P2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.