In his third Formula 1 season, Oscar Piastri is proving he has everything it takes to become World Champion. The Australian is currently leading the championship—an important result that highlights how much he has grown within McLaren.
He has been with the Woking team since the end of 2022, making his on-track debut alongside Norris starting from 2023. Since then, Oscar Piastri has developed rapidly, frequently challenging at the front of the grid. Now, McLaren boasts the best car on the grid, and both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are contenders for the world title. However, the Australian has shown strong maturity over the races held so far: only the mistake made in Melbourne prevented car #81 from fighting for the win, but in these ten races, he has always scored points.
This is a significant statistic, which Andrea Stella also wanted to comment on: “Well, I think the most important improvement, if nothing else, is that Oscar has become a faster driver,” he told the media, including Motorsport Week. “I think when you’re a fast driver you have more opportunities, more time to process, more margin to process things. And that’s true when you’re in the car, but it’s also true outside of it.”
“Since the speed is there, we’re working on all the other marginal gains that, by the end of the weekend, make up the level of performance necessary to achieve the kind of results he’s getting at the moment.” The McLaren team principal attributes this progress to the work the 24-year-old did over the winter: “Right after the end of the 2024 season, he started working hard and in a very targeted way, focusing on different areas. It was quite a holistic effort,” he explained.
An important guide
But behind every good driver, there’s always a key figure. In Oscar Piastri’s case, that figure is Mark Webber: former F1 driver and the Australian’s manager, who represents a reference point in his development. Andrea Stella also wanted to acknowledge this role, paying tribute with words of respect: “Although Oscar definitely deserves the main credit for these improvements, I’d like to mention the team around him,” he emphasized.
“His engineers, all the support from the factory with all the analysis, and even the team—Mark Webber—who works with Oscar. He’s definitely a great source of insights, reflections, and the ability to spot opportunities. So there’s quite a bit of work behind this progress. But ultimately, hats off to Oscar, who was able to capitalize on it,” the former Ferrari race engineer concluded.
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