McLaren lets drivers choose upgrade for Austria

Jun.25 (GMM)  While Lando Norris aims to bounce back after crashing out in Canada, Oscar Piastri may choose to stick with McLaren’s older suspension setup this weekend in Austria.

Despite trailing his Australian teammate by 22 points in the standings, Norris has frequently voiced discomfort with the handling of the 2025 McLaren. In response, the team introduced a revised front suspension designed to improve steering feel.

"The new front suspension is designed to give our drivers more feel," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed in Montreal. "We’ve made minor changes to the geometry – nothing dramatic."

According to Auto Motor und Sport, both drivers were offered the updated setup in Canada, but only Norris opted to use it. Piastri, more at ease with the original car, chose not to make the change.

Insiders noted that Norris appeared quicker throughout the weekend.

"McLaren has been trying out new things," Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Kleine Zeitung. "Lando Norris was blazing fast in the race before making his mistakes again."

Stella, however, warned that the suspension changes remain subtle and require more data.

"The changes are so minimal that it's difficult for the drivers to determine their effect," he said. "That's only possible once we’ve done a back-to-back comparison."

That test will take place this weekend in Austria. While Piastri will run the new setup during practice, he may return to the previous geometry for qualifying and the race.

"They could continue to use different suspensions," said Stella. "It’s up to the drivers to decide which specification they feel more comfortable with."

Stella was pleased with Norris’ initial feedback in Canada. "There were no negative surprises with Lando. He felt comfortable with it," he said. "Compared to Oscar, Lando was competitive from the start. For us, that means the experiment with the front suspension was a success for him."

Even so, Marko remains impressed by Piastri’s resilience.

"Of course, you also look at that crash (in Canada), and you wonder how Piastri was able to continue," said the Austrian. "Even in practice, he crashed into the wall and made it back to the pits.

"And the engines of Mercedes and Williams blow up – but not with that McLaren."

Some believe McLaren may begin quietly favouring Piastri in the title fight, despite the team’s public claims of equal treatment.

"This is up to McLaren internally," Marko concluded. "But we know that ‘papaya rules’ is now a familiar phrase in Formula 1."]]>