McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has highlighted Oscar Piastri’s “exceptional” rate of learning as the standout quality from his rookie Formula 1 season.
The Woking team took advantage of Alpine not giving Piastri a F1 race seat in 2022 to bring the Australian into their ranks as Daniel Ricciardo’s direct replacement.
However, the resulting legal battle and Piastri’s sudden rise to the junior category increased the pressure on him ahead of his first F1 season.
McLaren struggled in the early stages with an undeveloped car ready for market, but the introduction of a major upgrade in July propelled the team to the top.
Although Piastri only managed two podiums compared to Lando Norris’ seven, the 22-year-old overtook his teammate and secured victory for McLaren in the Qatar sprint race.
Stella admits that Piastri’s performance in his debut season “exceeded our expectations,” especially given his rapid upward trend.
Reflecting on Piastri’s season, which ended in ninth place overall, Stella said: “Our analysis is that Oscar’s season has just been exceptional, and when I say exceptional I mean beyond our expectations.
“I think what makes him so extraordinary is the speed at which he learns. And that applies to all scales: race time frames, event time frames, season time frames.
“His performance was very impressive and obviously raises expectations for next season.” And expectations require confirmation of the production. But another good thing about Oscar is that he is a very down-to-earth, very dedicated person.
“And if anything, the cooperation with him is more about what we have to do to confirm that gradient, and in terms of planning for the winter, it has virtually already begun, it’s work.”
Piastri-Norris led the year in terms of lap speed, which improved in the second half, but struggled to catch up with the Brit in race trim.
But Stella, who has previously compared Piastri to two-time champion Fernando Alonso, believes Piastri’s cautious approach will lead to sustained progress.
“The man behind the driver is probably one of the key factors that allowed him to develop so quickly,” Stella added.
“He is very calm and very good at keeping himself in a position to maximize his talents.
“I don’t have that quality. To actively keep myself in the most productive state, I need to think about my own psychology. It seems natural to Oscar, or maybe I don’t know if he’s been working on that throughout his young career, but it’s certainly worth noting.
“And even when I’ve seen great drivers, currently or in the past, all of them sort of sometimes underperform because they don’t stay in the status in which they give their best. I think for Oscar, this is quite natural.”
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