Oscar Piastri is not having his best year in Formula 1 this season. The Australian has only been on the podium twice this year and is seventh in the championship, while Lando Norris has already won two races. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella seems to know where the problem lies for his driver.
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Also in the last race in Madrid, things did not go smoothly for Piastri. At the start, the Australian lost part of his front wing after a collision with George Russell. His wing was not replaced, but the pace of the McLaren was not good enough to keep up with the front. In the final phase of the race, he was even completely stuck behind the Alpine of Franco Colapinto.
“We need to qualify better with Oscar,” concludes Stella. “We need to be closer to the podium from the start of the race. In Monza, we qualified in third place, but dropped three places due to a penalty, so there are several circumstances we need to have more control over.”
Not comfortable
During the Spanish GP, Stella saw a Piastri who was struggling. “The front wing damage cost him a certain amount of aero balance. This was very predictable for us. We were afraid that this would put more strain on the tires and that they would go off, but fortunately this did not happen and he stayed in the race. Even without damage, it would have been difficult for Oscar to get more out of it.”
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Stella also notices that Piastri still does not feel comfortable with the MCL40. “Oscar is still driving and thinking at the same time. When you do this, you slow things down and this also makes you think more slowly about decisions you have to make on the track. That results in slower lap times. So it is clear what we need to improve and I expect that we will get on top of it with him and see a better Oscar by the end of the season.”
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