Andrea Stella admits Oscar Piastri is now giving McLaren one ‘problem’ in area that helps Lando Norris

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McLaren may be on course to win the F1 drivers’ and constructors’ titles in 2025, but it is not all plain sailing in Woking as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris fight for the crown.

The papaya pals are flying high atop the F1 drivers’ championship, which in turn has handed McLaren a commanding advantage in their quest to retain the constructors’ title. Piastri and Norris lead the way with 234 and 226 points after the first 12 of the 24 rounds due in 2025.

Red Bull rival Max Verstappen now trails the McLaren pair by 69 and 61 points, as well, after Norris capitalised on Piastri’s penalty to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last Sunday. Their one-two finish moved McLaren to 460 points this year, while Ferrari sit second on 222.

Andrea Stella admits Oscar Piastri is giving McLaren a ‘parts problem’ by rejecting their new front suspension

Piastri would have won the British GP without his 10-second penalty for a safety car restart infringement, which gifted the lead to Norris at the 25-year-old’s home race. The Australian commanded the wet-dry-wet-dry conditions, yet paid the price for an error on Lap 14 of 52.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

But along with making life difficult for himself at Silverstone, Piastri is also giving McLaren a ‘problem’ by refusing to use the team’s upgraded front suspension that Norris is using. The 24-year-old has preferred to stick with their previous set-up through the past three rounds.

Team principal Andrea Stella does not believe Piastri rejecting the front suspension upgrade that McLaren introduced on Norris’ car in Canada causes issues collecting data. Yet it means McLaren must produce parts for two set-ups, and will likely need to for the rest of the term.

“The different front suspension doesn’t make it difficult for us to evaluate the data,” claimed Stella, via Motorsport-Total. “If anything, it’s more of a problem from a parts perspective, as we have to carry different specifications.

“We are currently discussing whether some of the options chosen by Lando might be interesting for Oscar in the future. But, at the moment, the most important news for us is that we seem to have found a better feel for Lando regarding the front axle.

“There is a possibility that these differences will remain for the rest of the season.”

Why is Oscar Piastri not using McLaren’s front suspension upgrade like Lando Norris?

Piastri does not want McLaren to fit their updated front suspension geometry on his car as it does not offer enough benefits for the Melbourne native to ditch the set-up that has worked for him this year. The 24-year-old feels it ‘makes some things better’, but also ‘others worse’.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Norris, on the other hand, has welcomed McLaren’s upgraded front suspension geometry as he struggled to find enough of a feeling with the front end of the MCL39 while using the set-up that Piastri prefers. It even helped Norris to win the Austrian GP, as well as the British GP.

Now, just eight points separate the papaya pals in the standings ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on July 27. Piastri will hope to hit back at Spa-Francorchamps, where Norris will need to find a strong feeling with the front of his car again to carry speed through the middle sector.