– At the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Oscar Piastri achieved his most recent Formula 1 victory. That was a year ago. Since then, the McLaren driver has been searching for his form from the early phase of the 2025 season, when he appeared to be the clear favorite for the title.
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But just as much as his McLaren teammate Lando Norris dethroned him at the end of 2025, Piastri also remains in the shadow of the defending world champion in 2026: Norris regularly achieves better results, while Piastri barely gets going.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained this now with special circumstances for Piastri: “We already saw last year that he needs to make adjustments from a driving perspective when the car has a low grip level.” This was the case in 2025, for example, in Austin and Mexico City: Piastri struggled.
McLaren team principal rules out mental block
“He has to adjust his driving style, his approach, and his expectations under such conditions,” said Stella. “That requires a certain mental effort, causing him to lose a few tenths of a second. Because you have to consciously process things rather than drive purely instinctively.”
Stella explained that Piastri does not have a mental block: “It is purely a technical matter that has nothing to do with psychological aspects. We are operating here in the driving and technical area.”
What makes Andrea Stella confident
And Piastri proves that he fundamentally has the speed to be competitive in Formula 1 – even on a weekend like in Zandvoort, where Norris performed significantly better.
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“Oscar drove good lap times. However, in the race, there were two factors that affected him,” said Stella. “Firstly, we called him into the pits to react to George Russell. In doing so, we lost position to Russell because our pit stop was too slow. The team is responsible for that, not Oscar.”
“And then in the second stint on the hard tires, we failed to get the tires working. They remained consistently in a range with very, very little grip. We did not see that in the first stint. So there are some things we need to work on.”
Is Piastri a victim of the small gaps?
On the other hand, the current Formula 1 punishes small shortcomings immediately and harshly, explained Stella. “At least three teams are within a tenth of a second. If things don’t go optimally, you can lose several positions. Then you quickly find yourself in sixth place. That is brutal.” (Comparison: Norris vs. Piastri in the 2026 team duel)
But that is Piastri’s reality: Since second place in Suzuka and third place in Miami, he has not achieved another podium result, was only once fourth and three times fifth. Norris, on the other hand, achieved two wins and a third place in the same period and is 55 points ahead of his McLaren teammate in the overall championship standings.
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Therefore, Stella said: “We must continue to work together with Oscar on all improvement possibilities. I am satisfied with the progress from Zandvoort. And I am sure there will be more as the season progresses.” However, Stella did not explain why he is convinced of this.
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