The key 'human factor' for McLaren in Piastri upgrade delays

McLaren boss Andrea Stella has emphasised the 'human factor' when dealing with delays in Oscar Piastri receiving the same upgrades as Lando Norris.

With both sizeable upgrades McLaren has introduced to the MCL60 in Austria and Singapore, Piastri has been at least one race behind Norris in receiving the new parts.

This has been down to the size of the upgrade package and the fact that McLaren only had time to prepare one set, with Norris as both the senior driver and ahead in the championship, receiving the parts.

Piastri received his package at the following British and Japanese Grands Prix, with both drivers now driving similar examples of the car heading into the final stretch of the season, with McLaren keen to overhaul Aston Martin for fourth-place in the Constructors', who hold a 49 point lead.

When asked about the delay in Piastri receiving upgrades, Stella explained in detail the thought-processes behind Norris being first - and how he speaks with Piastri to manage the situation.

Stella explains McLaren thinking

"You have to consider the impact on drivers when you bring upgrades, but you are not in the position to offer the upgrades to both [drivers]," Stella told media including RacingNews365.

"That is certainly one of the first thoughts you have as you work with the planners and the engineers, what is the best approach?

"'Okay, we can only [bring upgrades] for one car only' and immediately you think: 'We have a situation here and we will have to have some conversations.'

"By the time you make this kind of decision, the next action you do you call the driver. We are dealing with humans, they have the same kind of sensitivity being in Formula 1 or in any kind of activity.

"You say: 'This is the situation, this is what we think is logical and in the interest of the team, what do you think?'

"For clarity, we were not in the condition to prepare two cars [with the upgrades] because there was some work on modifying the chassis, it wasn't only bodywork but there were fundamental changes to the chassis to be able to put together the new parts.

"One important point is that at McLaren, we are in a position to have this conversation with serenity and both Oscar and Lando understand that the team has priority.

"We discussed about priority after Monza in relation to the upgrades that is is important we deliver the best performance as soon as possible. It would make no sense to leave these kinds of developments in the garage when you in a position to make the car a few tenths quicker.

"This is very sensible, and even if you generate some frustration, I think everyone is mature enough, and enough of a team player to understand that this is the right thing to do."