With two drivers aiming for a world title, McLaren might face a problem. How could the Woking-based team make sure that they favour neither of their drivers when bringing updates to track? Andrea Stella answered GPblog's question after the Bahrain GP.
Ultimately, McLaren will also fully focus on 2026 at some point when the new regulations come into effect and a completely new F1 car have to be built. That turning point may come sooner rather than later, given the lead the British team have over their rivals and at the moment, significant updates to the cars of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris do not seem necessary.
Updates are coming to McLaren, but who will get them first?
Still, McLaren will be get new parts in the coming period. The big question then is, who will receive which update first? In a team that value the so-called Papaya Rules so highly, Stella surely does not want to be accused by one of the drivers of favoritism towards their teammate. “We’ll have to see. First of all, what is actually the update”, the Italian began answering GPblog's questions.
“If it’s a front or rear wing, you don’t necessarily need to split between cars — it’s less an involved change. The reason why we went 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.”
Stella then indicates that updates are indeed coming. “We have an idea, because we are working in the background and are just about to pull the trigger in terms of delivery of the next upgrades. That doesn’t mean they will come in a few races, not in the short term."
"It will also depend on how we’re doing from a performance point of view. If the car keeps being such a strong car, then we might need to take a more considerate approach and make sure we’re not creating any imbalance in relation to fairness with the drivers,” the team principal concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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