Oscar Piastri’s Formula 1 title challenge hit turbulence in Baku, but McLaren boss Andrea Stella says there’s no need for concern. Despite retiring on lap one after hitting the Turn 4 barrier, Stella argued that even F1 greats like Michael Schumacher had weekends where everything went wrong.
“I’ve worked with multi-champion drivers and in a season, every season, even the most dominant, even by one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1, like Michael Schumacher, I have seen events like this,” said Stella.
“The most you take away is the learning because things become, for some reasons, difficult – and as soon as you misjudge the grip available, you get highly punished.”
Oscar Piastri still leads team-mate Lando Norris by 25 points with seven races to go, though the margin shrank from 31 after his Baku exit.
Stella: ‘Uncharacteristic’ Mistakes Show Learning Curve
The Australian endured a troubled weekend, clipping Turn 15 in practice and crashing in qualifying before his early race exit. Stella was quick to insist these mistakes were not reflective of his season.
“So, a one-off for what has been probably the most solid driver in this season. A one-off weekend in which things don’t go your way and you ultimately have a loss to review is no surprise, no exception that we should be worried about, because this has happened to pretty much all champions – even the ones with the best track record.”
According to Stella, Piastri’s strength lies in how quickly he adapts. “These errors that we’ve seen on Oscar’s side, they are definitely uncharacteristic. I think Oscar has been the most solid driver in the 2025 campaign so far, and for what I could see, even with multi-champion drivers, sometimes you have a weekend in which it’s all about learning.”
“I think Oscar concentrated on some learning opportunities this weekend, despite his will. The start, I think it’s just an excess of eagerness. I’m sure we have seen this now, and we won’t see this anymore.”
“But I think one of the strongest features of Oscar is how rapidly he learns, how rapidly he improves, and how he can come back stronger.”
Montoya Warns of Mental Pressure on Piastri
While Stella dismissed concerns, Juan Pablo Montoya offered a very different perspective. The Colombian believes the title run-in will inevitably affect Piastri’s mindset.
“We’re starting to see a side of Oscar we’ve not seen before – I don’t think Oscar has seen it before,” Montoya told F1 TV.
“He went to Monza and said ‘I’m in a comfortable position, but I’m not going to change my approach’. I actually said in Monza, ‘whether you like it or not, mentally, you are going to change your approach because you’re going to start double-guessing yourself’.
“One side is ‘I’m not pushing enough because I don’t need to’ and then you’re going to prove to yourself that you are pushing enough and then you throw the car in a wall.”
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