McLaren face another complication to keep the Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fight fair this season

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The McLaren drivers are separated by just 24 points with three races to go in the 2025 Formula 1 season, and the intensity levels are about to be ramped up.

Lando Norris currently has the upper hand, leading the drivers’ championship by 24 points over his teammate.

But Oscar Piastri is hoping to fight back and offer a bit of resistance at the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix. He knows if he doesn’t, his dream could be over very quickly.

And it’s in everyone’s best interests for this McLaren battle to go right down to the wire. The fans deserve it, and it would be a great end to a good season.

Zak Brown gave Norris and Piastri the perfect advice to fight Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but he might be a bit of an afterthought following the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Norris was struggling with ‘internal pressure’, according to James Hinchcliffe, during the first half of the season. Now his confidence has returned to a strong level.

READ MORE: Damon Hill shares what Mark Webber must do for Oscar Piastri behind the scenes at McLaren

McLaren face engine complications amid Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s 2025 F1 title fight

McLaren have changed their mind on Piastri after some of his recent mistakes, which seem to have been quite costly. Particularly crashing out of the sprint in Sao Paulo.

Fortunately, he didn’t damage any critical components, while Red Bull opted to change Verstappen’s engine. It’s a costly procedure, and can have cost cap permutations.

With both drivers having used all available power unit components available to them in 2025, a poor qualifying could leave them with a tough decision to make.

Keeping the Formula 1 title fight fair will be almost impossible if they opt to give one of their drivers a new engine. Giving both one could push them over the cost cap, so it’s a big decision.

“This year’s version [of the power units] with an MGU-H is probably close to £2 million,” reports The Race. “From McLaren’s perspective, the engine considerations are much more complicated than Red Bull’s because it’s having to take into account both of its drivers in any call that it makes.

“Handing just one of its drivers a fresh power unit to boost performance could influence the fairness of the title battle between them, even when taking into account any grid drop penalty that may be required.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris has unlocked a crucial Lewis Hamilton trait that could win him the Formula 1 championship

When is the last time McLaren still had a shot at an F1 title double with three races to go?

The last time McLaren were this heavily involved in a championship with a handful of races to go was back in 2010.

It has been 15 years since they failed to capitalise on a car that had the potential to claim a title, but fell short in the hands of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

The last time that the team actually accomplished a championship double was back in 1998, 27 years ago, and things have vastly changed at Woking since then.

The unfamiliar situation, coupled with the intensity and pressure of the fight, should make for a fascinating end to the campaign. Fans will soon find out which drivers can live up to the billing.