Formula 2 champion and McLaren F1 rookie Oscar Piastri has been a real show-stealer this season, having portrayed some of his best racing skills on the track. Despite an underwhelming start to the 2023 campaign, the young Aussie kept his head down and somehow managed to kindle his long-lost pace, subsequently putting up an incredible fight against his own teammate, Lando Norris.
While Norris is undeniably the superior driver at the moment, Piastri isn’t far off either. And considering his rapid evolution, it wouldn’t be much of a shock if Piastri finds eventually himself in the leading driver role at McLaren. Hence, amidst two feisty young drivers in the line-up, which driver does McLaren actually prioritize?
There have been rumors making rounds suggesting a potential rift between Piastri and McLaren. With the biggest upgrades all set to make its debut at the Qatar Grand Prix, McLaren admitted that only one driver would be receiving it; Lando Norris. Meanwhile, Piastri will have to wait another race weekend to relish the latest upgrades.
Hence, questions arose – is Piastri really happy with McLaren leaving him behind on the upgrades for the Qatar Grand Prix? While fans and pundits have spurred interesting theories, Piastri has shunned them all with quite a clear response. Piastri publicly confessed that McLaren has been anything but biased so far, and has more often than not split the upgrades equally among the two drivers.
Oscar Piastri shields McLaren and Lando Norris from F1 theories
Despite being denied the upgrades for Qatar, Piastri opened up about McLaren’s driver management this season. And if anything, it looks like Andreas Stella and Co. have pretty much aced it. “Of course, it would be great if we could both have it, but I completely understand why Lando gets them. But in saying that, we try and keep it as fair as we can,” Piastri said ahead of the weekend in Qatar.
Oscar Piastri says he understands why Lando Norris benefits first from the team’s upgrades, and insists the programme overall is “fair” to both drivers 🤝
“Of course it would be great if we could both have it, but I completely understand…”#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/jkd323Eoxx
— McLaren F1 News 🏴🇦🇺 (@TheMcLarenZone) October 3, 2023
“At Zandvoort, I had the new rear-wing first so [it’s important] that it is not all one-sided.” McLaren recently confirmed that the forthcoming upgrades would be the biggest of all this season, and hence, there are heightened expectations surrounding the Woking outfit.
Furthermore, with two of the most talented drivers behind the wheel, one could see a potential victory heading McLaren’s way, if not at the Qatar GP, at least in the near future. But, the question is, who is going to become McLaren’s first Grand Prix winner since Daniel Ricciardo in 2021?