Lando Norris suffering from surprising ‘side effect’ of F1’s most recent rule change that hasn’t affected Oscar Piastri

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One of the biggest talking points of the season was whether McLaren would be negatively impacted by the technical directive introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix.

After eight races, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were the leading contenders to win the drivers’ championship.

Max Verstappen is their closest rival while McLaren have already created a commanding lead in the team standings.

However, there was a belief that the rule change introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix, reducing each car’s front wing flexing, would negatively harm Andrea Stella’s team.

Red Bull thought the rule update would be game-changing for McLaren, with Verstappen doing a fine job keeping both of their drivers within touching distance.

Ferrari hoped to benefit from stiffer front wings, but in reality, the technical directive appeared to have very little impact.

However, since the rule change, Piastri has outscored Norris by 19 points.

Norris crashing out of the Canadian Grand Prix didn’t help matters, but it appears as though the Australian has been far less affected by any impact the regulations have had on McLaren’s car.

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

Lando Norris suffering from ‘side effect’ of F1’s front-wing flexibility rule change

A report from the Italian outlet AutoRacer shared more details about the issues Norris has been facing this season.

One of the biggest issues Norris has had to deal with is delivering the perfect lap in the final session of qualifying.

It’s stated that Norris’ mistakes have surprisingly come during slow speed sections of each circuit, an area where McLaren have a significant advantage over their rivals.

This is said to be due to ‘poor harmony’ between Norris and the car during the entry to these slow corners.

The technical directive introduced in Barcelona is said to have made Norris’ difficulties ‘more complicated’ and created a new ‘side effect’ that the 25-year-old is dealing with.

It’s believed that the change in front wing flexibility has forced McLaren to ‘modify the balance’ of Norris’ car between low and high speed areas of the circuit, leading to the Brit making more unforced mistakes.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

F1 paddock unsure about McLaren’s plans for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

Although Norris may be struggling to execute the perfect lap in qualifying, his race pace can’t be questioned.

He drove brilliantly to catch up to Piastri in Montreal, even if his move to try and overtake him was ill-advised.

People in the F1 paddock are unsure about McLaren’s papaya rules and how easy they’ll be to implement as the season goes on.

Piastri is currently the leading candidate to win the championship, but one retirement and Norris could return to the top of the standings with a victory.

Ralf Schumacher believes McLaren have internally decided to back Piastri in the championship with the threat of Verstappen and George Russell looming in the background.

Norris will know he has time to turn things around and prove the team wrong if that turns out to be the case.

However, he can’t afford many more mistakes, especially given the form the young Australian is in.