Andrea Stella backs Oscar Piastri to show his quality in upgraded McLaren
Oscar Piastri of McLaren
Andrea Stella reckons McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri can take advantage of his car's upgrades.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes F1 rookie driver Oscar Piastri is now equipped with the right car to showcase his remarkable talent.
Piastri, who secured the Formula 2 championship in 2021, joined McLaren this season following a prolonged transfer saga involving Alpine. The rivalry between these two teams highlighted the high expectations placed upon the Australian newcomer.
Initially, Piastri's debut season was somewhat overshadowed by a car that was not performing up to par. However, a comprehensive upgrade package introduced just before the summer break provided a substantial boost in competitiveness to McLaren's MCL60.
This upgrade allowed the established driver Lando Norris to secure two second-place finishes in both the British and Hungarian Grand Prix races.
Additionally, it provided Piastri with the opportunity to achieve a top-three position in the sprint race of the Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break.
Piastri's performance at Spa was the most recent in a series of strong finishes, following a fourth-place result in Silverstone, where he missed out on a podium due to a strategic undercut during pitstops, and a fifth-place finish in Budapest.
According to Stella, the recent streak of exceptional performances by Piastri align perfectly with what the team had already witnessed throughout his debut season.
The 22-year-old driver now has the necessary machinery to translate his form into concrete and tangible results on the track.
"I think where he is at the moment is part of the gradient that we saw right from the start at testing and the first races," Stella said.
"I'm not sure [Piastri's progression] has actually accelerated. I think he just took benefit from the car being more competitive, therefore there are more opportunities to show what he is capable of.
"I think this is in line with kind of what we saw at the start. It wasn't easy to get into a McLaren car. We've been here commenting about the characteristics of this car and how much it created issues for drivers and actually feels uncomfortable.
"So, this was apparent already at the start of the season to us, but less apparent outside just because the car wasn't very competitive, so I would say he's consolidating the gradient that we saw at the start."
