McLaren boss Andrea Stella has backed Oscar Piastri to bounce back from the disappointment that he endured at his home race in Formula 1‘s Australian Grand Prix.
Piastri appeared a certain bet to achieve a dream podium on his third F1 appearance on home soil as McLaren was dominating proceedings at the Albert Park Circuit.
The Australian had been running second behind team-mate Lando Norris when a rain shower hit the final sector on Lap 44, causing both drivers to go wide at Turn 12.
But while Norris managed to collect his McLaren, Piastri’s moment pitched him into a slow spin at the penultimate corner that saw him become stranded in the grass.
Piastri did get going again and recovered several spots later on – which included a brave last-lap overtake around Lewis Hamilton’s outside at Turn 9 – to salvage ninth.
However, Stella admitted that McLaren losing out on a 1-2 at the season-opening race placed a dampener on Norris overcoming a late Max Verstappen charge to win.
“It’s definitely mixed feelings, because until the moment where both drivers hit this sudden rain in the last sector, Oscar and Lando were driving brilliantly,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“And effectively, Oscar just paid a bigger price than Lando with the going off track and then not being able to come out of the grass.”
McLaren praises Piastri in mixed conditions
Piastri lamented the mistake that smudged a blemish on an encouraging weekend which had seen him run his team-mate close both over a single lap and in the race.
Stella praised both the speed and calmness in which Piastri negotiated the changeable conditions up until that point, though, and believes success will come his way.
“But I think Oscar today was deserving to be in contention for the victory until the last moment,” he expressed. “And he drove exceptionally well.
“When I use the verb driving, that’s not only driving the car around the track, but it’s also the kind of assessment of the conditions, of the decisions that we should have taken.
“He was very lucid, very calm, and he’s starting his year three in Formula 1, but he looks like one of the most expert drivers that I’ve worked with.
“So, extremely impressed by Oscar today, just a little bit unlucky.
“Extremely impressed through how the weekend, you know, first row locked in by McLaren.
“I already explained yesterday the importance of how much the drivers supported each other through the weekend by learning from each other.
“And I think some of the lap times we saw and the gaps we saw in qualifying are the derivation of this interaction between our two drivers.
“I think if the car keeps performing at this level of competitiveness, big satisfactions for Oscar are not far in time.”
McLaren backs Piastri to rebound
Stella is certain that Piastri’s tremendous mental resilience will ensure the disappointment won’t have an abiding impact on him at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
“I just met Oscar here for a very quick moment and I just told him that he will have many satisfactions this year, because he is fast and the car seems to be fast,” he added.
“So today was just an unlucky race.
“The good thing with Oscar is that you don’t have to do much of the psychological exercise of convincing him not to get too upset with himself or with the situation.
“He is one of the mentally strongest drivers that I’ve ever met. So I’m sure in China he will be back and very soon he will have important results.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri ‘proud’ despite ‘unbelievable’ F1 Australian GP heartbreak
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