McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is not concerned about a repeat of Oscar Piastri‘s disappointing weekend in Austin. The Australian felt uncomfortable all weekend at the Circuit of the Americans in the MCL39, which resulted in a shrinking gap to both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in the championship. According to Stella, however, Piastri is learning ‘at lightning speed’: ‘His strength is definitely that as soon as he sees something he can do better, he improves enormously quickly.’
Oscar Piastri had a disappointing weekend in Austin. The championship leader did not get past the opening bend during the sprint race on Saturday after a pile-up with Nico Hülkenberg and teammate Lando Norris. A day later, the Australian barely finished in the top five. Piastri himself already indicated that he did not feel comfortable at the Circuit of the Americans, and team boss Andrea Stella is also convinced that there are no structural problems with the Australian.
“I think it’s twofold,” Stella analyzes in Mexico. “If we look at the last four races, it’s clear that we could have done more. And that’s not just about Oscar. That also applies to Lando, myself and the whole team. We could have done a little better. At the same time, circuits like Austin are quite unique circuits where you have very little grip and there is no ‘graining’ on the tires. You can wear the tires and they still work.”
Championship Leader
Piastri is only in his third season in Formula 1, and according to Stella, the young driver can therefore learn ‘very quickly’ from such disappointing weekends. “He is relatively young as a Formula 1 driver,” the Italian explains. “And his strength is definitely that as soon as he sees something he can do better, he improves very quickly. He understood that he could have driven differently under the circumstances in Austin. He gets it. The next time we find ourselves in the same situation, he will do it differently. It’s part of a driver’s development, and that’s also why he, despite his young age, is leading the championship. He understands it, he processes it, he learns from it.”
