Oscar Piastri confirmed it is “expected” that both McLaren drivers will be receiving upgrades at the same time this season, as they battle for a potential Drivers’ Championship.

McLaren took the approach last season of bringing upgrades as quickly as possible, meaning that one package would occasionally be available for one car first before the other would receive it the following race, but with both drivers at the top of the standings early on, Piastri stated he and Lando Norris are set to “have the same car every weekend” while it is possible to do so.

Oscar Piastri: ‘Expected’ that McLaren duo will have ‘same car’ with updates

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

With Norris having been favoured in the second half of last year as he looked to pursue Max Verstappen, Piastri and senior McLaren personnel have assured that both drivers are operating on a level playing field – with both looking in contention for a potential title challenge at this stage.

Norris leads Piastri by three points heading into the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, and with updates set to be brought through the season, the Australian confirmed the team would look to ensure their drivers have equal machinery for as long as possible.

When presented with the team’s approach to upgrades last season and asked how they will go about upgrading the MCL39 this time around, Piastri told media including PlanetF1.com: “I think this year, the situation is very, very different.

“I think last year, especially at the beginning of the season, we were incredibly keen to get whatever performance we could onto the car as quickly as possible, and we needed to make up a points deficit, in the Constructors’ Championship, especially.

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“This year, we’re in a very different position. Obviously, we have already a decent gap in the Constructors’ Championship and both of us fighting for the Drivers’ Championship, so I think it’s expected that we’ll both have an equal opportunity and the same car to be able to fight for the Drivers’ Championship, and obviously in the Constructors’ Championship, we’re in a good place.

“I think, while we have the opportunity to keep it equal and have the same car every weekend, we should do that.”

With McLaren’s much-discussed ‘papaya rules’ having dictated how the drivers go racing against each other, the team has taken a ‘let them race’ approach as often as possible in 2025 so far.

When asked if the equal treatment between the drivers would sort itself out on track, the four-time Grand Prix winner made sure to say that one-lap pace is a key differentiator.

“I mean, qualifying is incredibly important,” Piastri said.

“Regardless of the kind of intra-team dynamics and pit stop preferences and whatever that causes, just the power of clean air is so important. So I think, regardless of that, you always want to be qualifying at the front.

“But with two drivers in the same car, I think with very similar pace, whenever you can be ahead, it’s a pretty major advantage, so it is going to be important to to have good qualifying – but we’ve seen in the past that it’s not always everything. There are other areas where you can make up the difference if you do a good enough job.”

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