Piastri and Schumacher: Stella compares errors in F1, key learning

Andrea Stella Defends Piastri After a Difficult Weekend

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella expressed his confidence that the disastrous Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Oscar Piastri was an isolated incident. Stella, who has worked with renowned drivers, including seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, pointed out that even the best drivers have experienced similar weekends. Piastri’s streak of 34 consecutive races with points came to an end on Sunday, when he crashed into the wall at Turn 5 during the first lap in Baku. This error occurred after a crash in qualifying that left him ninth on the grid, and a false start that caused his car to enter anti-lock mode and fall to the back of the pack.

“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’ve seen events like this,” Stella commented.

Andrea Stella

Stella, who worked with Schumacher at Ferrari during his most dominant period in F1, stated that disappointing weekends are inevitable, even for the best drivers in the sport. Stella emphasized that Piastri will learn valuable lessons from the weekend in Azerbaijan that will strengthen him. “It comes out without points and with a lot of learning,” Stella added. “I’ve already spoken with Oscar and his mind is already fully functional, processing, he’s already thinking, ‘this is what I’ve learned. I look forward to the next one.'” Stella described Piastri’s false start as an “excess of enthusiasm” and remains firm in his conviction that his driver will recover in the remaining seven races. “I think one of Oscar’s strongest characteristics is how quickly he learns, how quickly he improves, and how he can come back stronger,” he stated. “That’s why he’s been so successful in every category. I think that’s exactly what will happen in his Formula 1 career and we’ll see it for the rest of the season.”

The image shows Andrea Stella.

The damage to Piastri’s campaign was limited, as his teammate and championship rival, Lando Norris, only managed seventh place in Sunday’s race, reducing the Australian’s lead in the standings to 25 points.