Oscar Piastri of Australia, driving for McLaren, showcased impressive speed and professionalism at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. Despite a disappointing outcome, McLaren boss Andrea Stella commended Piastri for his performance.
Piastri took advantage of Sergio Perez’s failed attempt to pass in Turn 1, successfully overtaking both the Red Bull and Carlos Sainz before also surpassing Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari to secure second place. He maintained this position during the initial stint, but was ultimately overtaken by Leclerc due to an undercut strategy, and teammate Lando Norris after pitting during a Safety Car period.
Unfortunately, Piastri’s race took a turn for the worse when a collision with Sainz resulted in damage to his car, forcing him to make an unplanned pit stop and effectively ending his chances of finishing in the points. Despite this setback, Stella believes that Piastri gained valuable experience from the weekend. He noted that Piastri’s qualifying performance was impressive, considering the difference in car upgrades between him and Norris.
Stella stated, “I think Oscar comes out of this weekend even more aware of his capabilities as a driver. We already knew he was fast on a single lap, but he proved himself even without the full package. His qualifying gap to Lando was smaller than the difference in car upgrades. He delivered a strong performance in challenging conditions, like all drivers with Soft tyres.”
Although Piastri was unable to match Norris’ lap times during longer runs, Stella noted that his race management had improved compared to previous races. Stella continued, “Lando made an interesting observation. He was impressed watching Oscar overtake a Ferrari, realizing that we were competitive that day. Oscar maintained a strong pace in the first stint, and I believe he has gained confidence in terms of race pace, which was an area we wanted to improve upon after analyzing our performance in Japan and China. Overall, he is in a very strong position.”
Stella also praised Piastri’s reaction to being informed that he would only receive half of the updates that McLaren provided Norris with the fully upgraded MCL38.
“In addition, he has once again demonstrated his ability to be a valuable team player,” the Italian remarked.
“When I informed him that we would be giving the sidepods and the floor to Lando, he may not have been thrilled deep down.
“However, he never made it difficult for us to make this decision. He never questioned it.
“He understood the rationale behind it and immediately showed his support, just like everyone else in Oscar’s circle.
“Therefore, I believe he can take away many positives from this situation. Furthermore, the incident with Carlos, where they collided, was simply a racing incident. Carlos braked a little late and had some oversteer, resulting in contact with Oscar. But I don’t think it takes away from the successful weekend that Oscar has had.”