The director of McLaren, Andrea Stella, has pointed out that Oscar Piastri’s current deficit compared to his teammate, Lando Norris, is the result of his tendency to ‘think and drive’ with the 2026 Formula 1 machinery. This situation has highlighted that Piastri has not fully adapted to the new style of car, which is more difficult to control than his previous experiences.
Throughout the season, Piastri has shown a constant discomfort with the new generation vehicles, which have reduced aerodynamic downforce and feature narrower tires, altering his driving style, which is typically strong in fast corners and high-grip conditions. This change has hindered the Australian’s ability to maintain the confidence and familiarity he needed.
While the drivers performed similarly throughout 2025, including low-grip races among the final tests, surprisingly, Norris has gained a clear advantage this season. Stella stated that, to improve, McLaren needs to help Piastri mentally disconnect while driving, as driving while thinking can slow down his reactions and, consequently, his lap times.
Stella said: ‘With Oscar, we need to qualify better and be closer to the podium from the start. At Monza, for example, he finished P3 at the end of qualifying, but at the start, we began P6 due to an infringement. We need to control better circumstances. At the same time, Oscar and the MCL40 need to be more in sync, because he is still a driver who drives with thoughts.’
Piastri had an incident with the front wing at the first corner after colliding with George Russell’s Mercedes, compromising the aerodynamic balance of the car. Stella expressed his concern about the damage to the front wheels, but the durability of the hard tires prevented this from causing a major problem and allowed Piastri to continue in the race.
Finally, Stella concluded that Piastri’s race was compromised not only by the vehicle damage but also by the positions lost at the start. ‘Even without the damage, it would have been a tough race to extract more performance from the situation.’
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
