Andrea Stella: McLaren needs to assist Oscar Piastri in ceasing to "think" about how to operate the '26 F1 vehicle.

McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella believes that Oscar Piastri's current gap to Lando Norris stems from the Australian still "thinking and driving" with the 2026 Formula 1 machinery.

Piastri's struggle with the latest generation of F1 cars has been apparent throughout the season so far. It has become evident over the past two years that his strengths lie in maintaining speed through high-speed corners and in conditions with high grip. The diminished aerodynamic performance and narrower tyres dictated by the 2026 regulations have significantly reduced grip in the new cars, pushing Piastri out of his comfort zone.

This, combined with the charge-and-deploy characteristics of the '26 powertrains, has made this year particularly challenging for Piastri. While he and Norris were remarkably close during the 2025 season, except for the low-grip races in the later flyaways, Norris has clearly had the upper hand this year. 

Stella asserts that Piastri will make progress if McLaren can help him stop "thinking" while on track, acknowledging that driving this year's MCL40 does not come naturally to the Melbourne native. 

"I believe we need to improve Oscar's qualifying performance and stay nearer to the podium positions from the outset," Stella began. "In Monza, he qualified P3 but somehow we ended up starting P6 due to impeding. There are several factors we need to manage better. 

"We must execute our plans more effectively, and simultaneously, we need to harmonize Oscar's driving style with the MCL40 because he is still in a mindset of driving and thinking. When you drive while thinking, everything slows down; it makes you a slower driver in terms of decision-making and ultimately results in slower lap times. 

"Thus, the agenda is clear regarding what improvements we need to make, and I expect, as I always say, that we will address these issues and see a stronger Oscar in the latter part [of the year]."

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Piastri incurred front wing damage in the opening corner after coming into contact with George Russell's Mercedes, which left the diveplane flapping against the endplate. 

Stella mentioned that McLaren was concerned about the effect on Piastri's front tyres, but the hard compound proved durable enough to prevent any graining — thus not requiring a front wing replacement. He even managed to overtake Arvid Lindblad after his pit stop but ultimately became stuck behind Franco Colapinto's Alpine, finishing in seventh place.

"The front wing damage certainly affected Oscar's aerodynamic balance," Stella added. "So it was definitely quantifiable. 

"We were somewhat apprehensive that this could lead to significant graining due to the loss of downforce at the front end. Fortunately, the hard tyres were robust enough to avoid graining, allowing Oscar to remain competitive in the race. 

"Regarding Oscar, I believe the race was significantly compromised not only by the car damage but also by losing positions at the start. Even without the damage, it would have been a tough race to improve the situation he found himself in."