McLaren boss Andrea Stella identified a key characteristic that Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix victor Oscar Piastri possesses.
An assured drive from pole position saw Piastri become the first McLaren driver to win at the Bahrain International Circuit last weekend, his second victory of the season.
After a disappointing slip-up in the wet during his home race at the start of this year’s campaign, Piastri has dusted himself off well and the Aussie now has two wins out of four rounds to trail team-mate Lando Norris by just three points in the Drivers’ standings.
Piastri’s calm presence behind the wheel and untroubled nature en route to victory betray the fact he’s in just his third year of F1 competition.
The Aussie’s pole position in the fast, but bitey McLaren MCL39 came amid Norris struggling to sixth and as the more experienced Briton wrestles with getting his head around this year’s papaya car, Piastri is realising its full potential.
Speaking to select media, including Motorsport Week, after Saturday’s Sakhir qualifying session, Stella said, “I am impressed, but not surprised.
“I’m not surprised because for us, like I always repeat, it was very apparent pretty much straight away that we were dealing with a driver with incredible natural talent, but associated also to some particular characteristics, I would say,” Stella added.
The Italian went on to explain how Piastri’s cool nature is a positive asset.
“I’ve always said that there’s no noise in Oscar’s head, which is a very useful characteristic in F1, and I think this allows him to progress, to process information, to process what’s available in the situations as a way of improving himself at a very fast rate,” he said.
“For being race 50 in F1, certainly what he’s achieving is pretty remarkable, but what I can say is that considering his qualities and considering the way he approaches race weekend and his F1 experience, I think he will be able to sustain this growth and this trajectory for the years to come.
“So it’s a very interesting prospect for the entire F1, I would say.”
Where does Piastri’s Bahrain success rank?
Piastri has now notched four GP victories in less than 12 months and Stella believes Bahrain was his “most robust” triumph, comparing it to his sterling defensive effort in Azerbaijan last Autumn.
“If you think of the victory in Baku, for instance, it was a pretty crystalline, clinic victory, that one with [Charles] Leclerc attacking him every single lap,” Stella said.
“For me, this one is the one in which he’s been just, I think, most robust.
“No hesitations, no inaccuracies. Everything that was available, he capitalized on.
“So for me, this gives me more the sense of robustness, you know, solid racing.
“I think the Baku one was more on the edge, it was more pressure, this one was more managing gaps, if anything.
But obviously, being strong at the start, restarts, it shouldn’t be given for granted for somebody who is at the 50th race in F1, which is quite impressive.”
It appears right now that Piastri can handle whatever is thrown at him, and has the ability to wrestle the best performance from the MCL39 possible.
The man himself said on Sunday night that he rates both the car and his driving.
“I’ve been happy with how I’ve driven all season so far,” he said.
“Maybe not all the results have been exactly what I wanted, but I think this weekend has definitely been the result I wanted.
“So yeah, been proud of the job that I’ve been doing and very proud of the job the team’s done.
“Obviously, the car is in a great place. Still has its moments where it bites, but for a lot of the time it’s an incredible car to drive and clearly very quick.
“So yeah, very proud of the work we’re doing. This has been a track that’s not been kind to us in the past, so to have a weekend like we have had this weekend is a really meaningful result – outside of the victory.”
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