McLaren praises Piastri’s strong showings, even despite limitations

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has been impressed with Oscar Piastri’s performance and development so far this season, his second in F1, insisting the young Aussie is doing “very, very well”.

Piastri finished runner-up to race winner Charles Leclerc in Monaco last time out where he outraced and outqualified teammate Lando Norris.

The 23-year-old finished just off the podium in the previous event at Imola where he had also qualified second, just behind poleman Max Verstappen, but was forced to start his race fifth due to miscommunication by his team in qualifying that led to a three-place grid penalty.

Overall, Stella emphasizes Piastri’s linear development in his sophomore campaign in F1 and especially his gains in the crucial area of tyre management that have helped him improve his pace in race trim.

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“Oscar is doing very, very well,” commented the McLaren team principal, speaking to Speedcafe.

“Especially, I would say, after we got some information onboard in the early races, about managing tyres, reviewing in particular China, we realised a couple of things.

“We said, ‘we need to adjust these couple of things', and immediately Oscar was there in terms of pure speed like he's always been, like qualifying pace.”

Stella highlights Piastri’s ability to extract good results even with limitations, while each passing race delivers its fair share of valuable lessons and experience to the young charger.

“Even if you look at Miami, he was behind Lando in qualifying by a little bit, but he didn't have the full upgrade,” the Italian continued.

“We know how much the upgrades are worth, and I can tell you, Oscar did a pretty amazing job.

“He was first row on the grid in Imola and then actually he was demoted for reasons that don't have to do with him, it was a team responsibility.

“And in Imola, in the race, I was just amazed myself to see like, just putting so much pressure on a Ferrari when we know very well that in Imola when you are one second behind another car, you lose a lot of performance – and he stayed there.”

Ahead of this week’s Canadian Grand Prix, Piastri sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with 71 points, three positions and 42 points behind Norris in third place.

“I’ve been happy with where my driving is at the moment, especially the consistency that I’ve shown across the last three events,” Piastri noted in McLaren’s preview of its upcoming round in Montreal.

“Progress is never linear but I’m enjoying showing what I can do and driving this car, which the team have done such a strong job with.

“Hopefully in Canada, we can pick up where we left off because it’s so tight at the sharp end of the grid and we want more.”

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