Does Oscar Piastri think too much? Here’s what McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has to say

Since the summer break, there has been a clear difference in performance between the two McLaren drivers on paper: 2025 World Champion Lando Norris stepped up his game, winning at Zandvoort from pole. At Monza, he moved up from eighth on the grid to fourth (a minor setback), whilst in Madrid he started from pole once again but could only manage third due to bad luck involving the safety car. Oscar Piastri, on the other hand, could not manage better than fifth place at Monza. In Madrid, he started seventh and finished eighth.

What’s going on here? McLaren team principal Andrea Stella cites individual problems during the race. However, the Italian also suggests that the Australian thinks too much whilst driving.

In Madrid, Piastri suffered damage

Stella on the Madrid race, where Piastri got caught up in a pile-up straight after the start, damaged his car and lost three positions: “The damage to the front wing cost Oscar stability. That was very clearly noticeable. We were quite concerned that it would lead to severe graining, as the front tyre had lost a lot of downforce. In fact, and fortunately, the hard tyres were resilient enough not to cause any wear, so Oscar was able to stay in the race.”

Furthermore, on the narrow circuit, where overtaking was virtually impossible, his position in the field was a decisive factor. Stella: “I do think, however, that the race was definitely affected not only by the damage to the car, but also by the fact that he lost further positions at the start. So I believe that even without the damage, it would have been a difficult race to get more out of the situation he found himself in.”

“Oscar is still driving and thinking at the same time”

So what needs to improve? The Italian engineer: “Oscar needs to qualify better and stay closer to the podium positions right from the start. So there are several factors we need to get a better handle on. We need to perform better and, at the same time, improve the set-up between Oscar and the MCL40, because Oscar is still driving and thinking at the same time. And when you’re driving and thinking, the process slows down. As a driver, you’re slower when it comes to deciding what to do, and ultimately you’re also slower in terms of lap times.” So, clear your head? A matter of getting used to it?

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Stella: “I’m confident, as I always say, that we’ll get this under control and that we’ll soon see a strong Oscar again.”