FIA confirm DOUBLE McLaren F1 engine change for Belgian Grand Prix

fia, mclaren, lando norris, oscar piastri — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

FIA confirm DOUBLE McLaren engine change for Belgian Grand Prix

McLaren have made some changes for the Belgian GP weekend

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 26 July 2025 08:27 Updated: 13:12

The FIA have confirmed engine changes for both McLaren F1 stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Both drivers have been an unstoppable force in the 2025 season thus far, with their Mercedes-powered McLaren aiding them to nine race victories between them.

In an official document, F1's governing body confirmed both Norris and Piastri - alongside the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll - will be making multiple changes for the upcoming races at Spa.

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All three drivers will be taking a new internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger (TC), motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H) and motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K).

Later on Friday evening, the FIA also announced that Williams star Carlos Sainz would be bringing the same new PU elements for this competition.

These engine parts are allowed to be changed three times a season without incurring a penalty, and this occasion marks the third and final time for each driver.

As the engine changes conform with the FIA sporting regulations, neither McLaren driver or their F1 rivals will take a penalty, with it being a legal practice.

Piastri’s engine will undergo further component changes, using one of his two allotted energy stores (ES) and control electronics (CE), an element also being changed on the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto.

McLaren make changes for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at Spa

Why have McLaren made changes for the Belgian Grand Prix?

F1 teams usually make engine component changes for Spa due to the long straights on the circuit and the increased emphasis on power.

Mercedes’ power unit reliability has been called into question throughout 2025, with issues impacting the likes of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Antonelli and Alex Albon.

However, team principal Toto Wolff was quick to defend his team's product, which McLaren are a customer of, pointing out that these retirements were due to a variety of circumstances such as chassis failures.

Alongside their fresh components for Spa, the papaya F1 outfit should have little concern on the power unit front, with the team enjoying strong reliability throughout the season.

Piastri is yet to suffer a DNF in 2025 and has finished in the points of all 12 rounds he has contested with McLaren this year, a feat which has assisted with his lead in the drivers' standings.

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