Stella says Piastri creating “positives” at McLaren

Australian rookie Oscar Piastri has already created plenty of “positives” just two races into his Formula 1 career ahead of a dream home race this weekend.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the squad has been impressed by the “strong progress” shown by Piastri since he first stepped into the MCL60.

The Melbourne born 21-year-old made his debut at Bahrain and immediately made some moves in his first racing lap in 448 days since he won the 2021 Formula 2 Championship.

But his progress was cut short by an electrical problem just 13 laps in. Despite the disappointment, Piastri took an even bigger stride in Saudi Arabia.

The young Aussie comprehensively outperformed his more senior teammate Lando Norris, graduating to Q3, while the Brit could only manage 19th.

Even after a first-lap incident with Pierre Gasly threatened to derail his race, Piastri still fought hard to beat Norris in a straight fight and claim 15th, two spots ahead car #4.

The result pumped Piastri up ahead of his dream maiden Grand Prix in his home city of Melbourne and drew praise from the highest level of the famous McLaren team, which is under no illusions it needs to improve its MCL60.

“We have seen really strong progress by Oscar,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told Autosport.

“Obviously, Lando is a complete certainty. So we know that Lando is there.

“So there’s some positives, but for me the message stays the same. We need to work hard to improve the car and go back racing where we should belong.”

Although Piastri performed on a much better level results wise at Jeddah than at Sakhir, Stella did not believe the Aussie took a giant leap.

Instead the newly installed team principal believed it was the latest example of Piastri’s gradual improvement as he adapts to the Formula 1 world.

“I wouldn’t say that he took a big step,” said the Italian. “For me it’s going steady progress session-by-session.

“But like if you look back, already in FP1 he was a little bit more competitive than Bahrain, then FP2 closer, then FP3 pretty much a match for Lando, capitalising in qualifying, and then very strong in the race.

“For me, I see more the sense of constant progression, which is ultimately the plan that we have with Oscar.”

With a record-breaking crowd expected to stream through the gates of Albert Park this weekend, it will be a busy time for Piastri being the centre of attention.

However, Stella is confident the young man will be calm enough to deal with all of the hysteria without it affecting his focus on the job at hand.

“He is a very calm guy, I think he will be able to keep himself in the bubble,” Stella said.

“But certainly we’ll have to make sure that he can stay focused on racing, and he can stay focused on keeping up with this exceptional rate of development session after session.”

With so much papaya expected to be in the stands, there will be a lot of expectations on McLaren to improve its competitiveness.

The team currently sits last in the constructors, while Piastri and Norris occupy P19 and P20 on the driver standings at the back.

However, Stella is optimistic the MCL60 can be competitive with the nature of Albert Park is more suited to Saudi Arabia than Bahrain.

This can give McLaren fans reasons to hope as Jeddah was the scene of Piastri producing the high point of the season in qualifying.

Last year’s Australian Grand Prix was a solid performance for the Woking team as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo came home nose to tail in fifth and sixth.

Stella said the team hopes to retain a Q3 berth and challenge for points in Australia.

“As a track in terms of tarmac grip, speed of the corners, I would say it should be more similar to Saudi than Bahrain,” he said.

“So we look forward to that place in terms of being able again to challenge for Q3, and challenge for good points.”

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