McLaren team principal Andrea Stella heaped praise on the mental strength of Oscar Piastri, which has proven “extremely motivational” for the team.
Stella’s reaction came after Piastri bounced back from being unable to start either the Australian or Chinese GPs. Stella also extended high praise to Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris, the duo working as a cohesive unit and showing “why they drive a McLaren”.
Andrea Stella praises Oscar Piastri resilience after 2026 setbacks
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Piastri crashed out on his way to the grid at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. It was a bitter blow in front of his Melbourne fans.
Piastri would not take the start in China either. That time, it was a double McLaren DNS, owing to separate issues with the Mercedes power unit battery.
How Piastri dealt with this adversity impressed Stella, and the wider McLaren team.
“I think this start of the season has given Oscar the opportunity to test where he was with his maturity, with his strength, with his ability to absorb adversity,” said Stella at the Japanese Grand Prix.
“I have to say that the team is so impressed by the strength that this driver is exhibiting, and I have to say passing on to the team, because when you see a driver responding like that to a second race in which he was not in condition to be part of it, then this becomes extremely motivational for all the team.
“So really credit to Oscar, credit to his own personal development, which is not only the development of a driver getting faster and faster, but also of a person getting more and more mature and strong from a mental point of view.”
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Piastri went on to qualify third at Suzuka. He took the lead at the Grand Prix start, and was holding off a recovering George Russell in the dominant Mercedes W17.
But, a Safety Car period came at the wrong time for Piastri. He ultimately finished 13.7 seconds back from winner Kimi Antonelli.
Nonetheless, it was a critical milestone for Piastri as he finally got his F1 2026 campaign up and running. McLaren, as a whole, left Suzuka with optimism, having taken a clear step forward to bring the fight to Mercedes.
Stella was also asked about how Piastri and Norris are working as a partnership, the teammates and 2025 title rivals bidding to bring McLaren back to the front.
“When it comes to the relationship between Oscar and Lando, I’ve actually been thinking about it because I see how well they collaborate,” said Stella.
“These guys have gone through a quest for a world championship, the Drivers’ World Championship, the dream of their life, and competing with one another, and now they keep exhibiting this level of mutual respect.
“I think this is perhaps something that we have helped them as a team to reflect and embed, but at the same time, and this is true for Lando as well, what I said before for Oscar, this is who they are.
“This is also why they drive a McLaren, because it just wouldn’t work, the relationship between a driver and a team, if we didn’t share the same values, the same mindset, the same approach to racing.
“So, I’m personally very proud of Lando and Oscar for how they are collaborating at the moment and, just like I said before, if we had not had the 2025, I would say, ‘Let me see once they become rivals for the championship,’ but we have had it already, so at the moment I’m just proud and happy with what they are doing for McLaren and for themselves.”
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