Contrary to expectations, Andrea Stella expressed satisfaction with Oscar Piastri’s fifth-place finish in Mexico and is now aiming for an “all-Papaya” championship battle. McLaren can breathe a sigh of relief after points were lost in previous races, with the “Norris factor” coming through in a strong victory in Mexico. Following the race, Stella emphasized his goal of leaving the championship in the hands of McLaren’s two drivers, Piastri and Norris, showing no frustration over Piastri’s fifth-place result.
Stella praises Piastri’s race: “He dealt well with the traffic”
At the end of the Mexican Grand Prix, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella commented on the performances of both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. He started by explaining that Lando fully deserved the victory from Friday onwards.
“Yes, a dominant performance today by Lando, confirming what we saw in qualifying. Lando was effectively the fastest in all practice sessions, so the victory was well deserved and it’s an important confirmation for McLaren: we can have the fastest car. We experienced some hesitations in previous races and probably didn’t maximize our potential in some of them. So today’s confirmation is very important and encouraging looking ahead, and I also see positive signs from Oscar’s side today.”
Unlike what one might expect, Stella did not criticize Oscar Piastri for losing points to Max Verstappen or for missing out on the championship lead. Instead, he appreciated the rookie’s battles in traffic.
“Well, I’m satisfied with him [Piastri] for how he fought. I’m happy he implemented some of the adjustments we wanted to try today, based on what we’ve learned about how to drive our car quickly under these particular conditions in Mexico. Oscar did that today, and it’s a bit of a shame he couldn’t do more because he spent almost the entire race in traffic. But we know that with Oscar, we’ve added new tools to our ‘toolbox’ that will surely make him even stronger for an exciting final part of the championship.”
Stella clear on McLaren’s championship goal: “We want to privatize the battle”
Stella’s ambition is to make the championship fight an exclusively McLaren affair.
“Well, the gap between our two drivers is good news. The good news is that it’s our two Papaya drivers, and our goal is definitely to keep pushing harder. We want to make this entirely a Papaya showdown, and then may the best driver win.”
When asked whether he expects a stronger performance from Piastri in Brazil, Andrea Stella answered: “100%. The car should also suit that track well. I think it should be a good circuit for our car. From the last few races where we didn’t perform well, we’ve learned some things about how to use the car more consistently, and I believe this will definitely allow us to fight for victory in the remaining four races.”
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