Stella Praises Piastri's Resilience After Challenging Mexico Race

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella lauded Oscar Piastri's determined fightback in Mexico, despite the Australian driver facing a weekend of struggles for pace at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. While teammate Lando Norris secured a dominant victory, Piastri's ability to adapt and improve his performance during the race demonstrated significant progress, even if masked by heavy traffic.

Why it matters:

• Piastri's resilience in overcoming a difficult qualifying session and adapting his driving style highlights his ongoing development as an F1 driver.
• His performance in Mexico, despite not yielding a podium, provides valuable lessons for both Piastri and the McLaren team as they head into the final races of the championship.
• Developing a more versatile driving style is crucial for sustained success in Formula 1, especially in varied track conditions.

The Details:

• Piastri qualified a disappointing seventh and extended his podium drought to four races, contrasting sharply with Norris's pole-to-victory run.
• Low-Grip Conditions: Stella noted that Mexico's low-grip circuit exposed a misalignment between Piastri's natural driving style and the car's requirements under those specific conditions.
• Adaptation and Adjustments: Following extensive data review, the team and Piastri identified specific adjustments to both the car setup and Piastri's driving approach.
  • The key learning was to drive the car in a way that embraces sliding, a technique not naturally intuitive for Piastri, but one that can produce lap time in low-grip scenarios.
• Improved Race Pace: Stella confirmed that Piastri successfully applied these adjustments during the race, resulting in a more competitive pace compared to Saturday.
• Traffic Hindrance: Despite the improved pace, Piastri spent the entire race battling in traffic, which prevented him from fully showcasing his enhanced performance and potential.

What's next:

• Stella believes this experience will be highly beneficial for Piastri's long-term development, adding new 'tools to the toolbox' for future races.
• The lessons learned in Mexico regarding adapting to low-grip conditions will be crucial for the remaining four races of the season, which are expected to present diverse track challenges.
• Piastri's ability to learn and adapt under pressure reinforces McLaren's confidence in his potential to become a more complete Formula 1 driver, ready for various race conditions.