Andrea Stella shares his viewpoint on what could be ailing Oscar Piastri off-late and especially in F1 Mexico GP, as he rules out any issues with the car.
Even though McLaren’s Piastri has the F1 points lead, it has cut down to 40 against Max Verstappen and it is now 14 against Lando Norris since the summer break when the Top 3 was at one point covered at a margin of 104 points. The Australian’s lead has dramatically come down.
It is unclear if Mexico is track specific or conditions, but McLaren team boss Stella thinks that as one of the reasons for Piastri’s under-performance in F1 qualifying, where he finished eighth. The low speed corners are the ones where the Australian is losing to Norris, who has pole position.
Additionally, the Italian thinks Norris excels on low grip circuits as opposed to Piastri, who likens high grip scenarios. But Stella is confident of a fight back. “I think, first of all, let me start by saying that it’s important today for the team to confirm that we can have the fastest car,” he said to media.
“After a few races in which we had some hesitations, possibly we didn’t even maximise the potential that was available in the car, so here we really regrouped and we tried to make sure that we could optimise, from a setup point of view, from a car specification point of view, to make it as fast as possible, and it was good to prove that it was the fastest car.
“But the fastest car is also a car that needs to be driven in a certain way, especially when you have conditions like here and to some extent in Austin, with hot tarmac, sliding tyres, and the way in which you generate lap time is a way that, I would say, comes relatively naturally for Lando and less naturally for Oscar. Lando is the driver of going on low grip, end of the stint, when the tyres are quite worn, used, the grip is low, is where we see Lando green sector, green sector, green sector.
“Oscar is that more of a driver of high grip, and that’s where he can exploit this incredible talent. At the same time, we don’t have to forget that while we talk about the leader in the drivers’ championship, he’s not even finished the third season in Formula 1. So, experiencing situations like we have in Austin is how you actually calibrate yourself as a driver.
“So Oscar, every session, is learning a little bit as to what you need to do, what you need to feel to say, I’m fast now, in these specific conditions, which conversely are more natural conditions for Lando. So nothing to worry, I think it’s more a calibration exercise for Oscar. I’m sure this calibration will pay off already tomorrow in the race and in any future event in which the regime, in which the tire and the car interact with the tarmac, is similar to here in Mexico, like it was in Austin,” summed up Stella.
When pressed on to recall if Piastri has struggled in similar conditions before, the Italian didn’t pin point races per se while explaining that Mexico seems like a unique situation which added to the Australian’s situation. The driver termed the lack of lap time as mysterious post-qualifying, where he noted that the car did not feel bad when driving. He just couldn’t extract the lap time.
“Well, we were actually trying to see during the season if there were conditions that were comparable to this one,” continued Stella. “Like these are conditions in which, for instance, you have a C5 tyre, a very soft tyre, and so far we haven’t seen graining at all, which is quite surprising. Like last year the tyre was graining massively, so it means that the regime is quite particular, and we were going through understanding if there were other cases, perhaps Canada might have been similar.
“In terms of the gap itself, we need to look into the details, really. I think we also have to take into account that Lando finished his lap and said, like, I’m not sure actually how to put together such a good lap. So we have a situation where one driver is struggling a little bit and the other driver really managed to perform at the best of what was available today.
“So I don’t want to enter into too many details, but what’s important is that we extract from a driving point of view, from a driving perception point of view, what Oscar needs to do and feel tomorrow to be quick in the race,” summed up Stella, as he ruled out any issue with the car or problems with the chassis, which normally is finger-pointed at when there is difference of performance and results.
With Norris on pole and Piastri about half a second down, it certainly gives a chance for fans to question if the cars are different or there is any disparity. Stella acknowledged the chassis point, but ruled out any issues. Piastri, as well, did not see any difference, even after the incident in Austin.
“Every evidence, every piece of data, every indirect measurement of information we have tells us that there is no problem with the car and we have no reason to suspect that that’s the case,” said Stella. “Also, the change of the chassis, I know that in the history of Formula 1 there is this topic of changing the chassis. I would change other components than the chassis, like the floor, the front wing, but in reality there is a rotation of parts, so it’s not like there is always the same parts on the car.
“So we have reasons to be reassured that there is no problem with the car and like I said before, these are very, very unique conditions and also once you get the familiarity with what you have to do and what you have to feel, then you start to gain in every single corner and you can cash in quite a lot of lap times. So, no concern with the car and I’m sure tomorrow Oscar will capitalise from the learning,” summed up Stella.
Here’s Oscar Piastri after F1 qualifying
Here’s Andrea Stella on development stop
Here’s Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris on title scene
