McLaren Cites Michael Schumacher Example over Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan GP disaster

Andrea Stella reckoned that Oscar Piastri's blunder in Baku wasn't problematic as even Michael Schumacher has committed such errors.

McLaren Cites Michael Schumacher Example over Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan GP disaster

Oscar Piastri (via AP Photo), Michael Schumacher (via Getty)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Oscar Piastri endured an extremely disappointing end to the Azerbaijan GP after committing multiple costly blunders. His pace at the start of the weekend looked promising, but the Aussie crashed out in Q3 qualifying and later suffered a Lap 1 DNF. The 24-year-old’s mistake has now tightened the gap to the trailing drivers in the standings. Despite the woeful outing, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has drawn a parallel between Michael Schumacher and Piastri.

Oscar Piastri‘s lead in the championship title against Lando Norris has come down to 25 points following the woeful outing in Baku. Even Max Verstappen is now just 69 points adrift of the title lead against the Aussie. As such, Piastri must ensure that he does not make such mistakes in the coming races and hold onto his lead. Andrea Stella has weighed in on the Aussie’s mistake in Baku, and how it isn’t completely unexpected of him to make such errors.

Andrea Stella asserted that he had worked with various multi-champion drivers over his long career in Formula 1. Stella pointed out that he even worked with Michael Schumacher, who wasn’t completely resistant to making mistakes. The Italian reckoned that all the top drivers, no matter how dominant, were bound to make silly errors during races, as he had seen such blunders firsthand himself.

I’ve worked with multi-champion drivers and in a season, every season, even the most dominant, even by one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1, like Michael Schumacher, I have seen events like this.

Andrea Stella said, as reported by motorsport.com

Andrea Stella continued that the most a driver took away from such mistakes and woes was a lot of learning. Stella insisted that things started to become difficult for a driver, especially Oscar Piastri, after the driver’s title came so close between the top drivers. The Italian highlighted that Piastri misjudged the grip at the Baku circuit and ultimately suffered from a disappointing end to his race.

The most you take away is the learning because things become, for some reasons, difficult – and as soon as you misjudge the grip available, you get highly punished.

Andrea Stella added

Andrea Stella labels Oscar Piastri ‘most solid driver’ in 2025

Oscar Piastri has made no such blunders this year, as it was very uncommon of him to crash out in this manner on Turn 1. The Aussie has been extremely consistent in performances this year as well, with his worst finish being a P9 at the season opener in Australia. As such, Andrea Stella christened the Aussie with an impressive title despite committing a massive mistake at the Azerbaijan GP.

Oscar Piastri (via Getty)
Oscar Piastri (via Getty)

Andrea Stella declared that the Baku mistake was a ‘one-off’ for the most solid driver in the 2025 season in Oscar Piastri. Stella insisted that the entire weekend was a one-off for Piastri as he hoped to put the woes behind him. The Team Principal reiterated that such problems had arisen for even the drivers with the best track record in their careers in Formula 1.

So, a one-off for what has been probably the most solid driver in this season. A one-off weekend in which things don’t go your way and you ultimately have a loss to review is no surprise, no exception that we should be worried about, because this has happened to pretty much all champions – even the ones with the best track record.

Andrea Stella noted

McLaren’s pace is seemingly being beaten by Red Bull, especially in the past couple of race weekends. Although Woking doesn’t seem to be behind in terms of challenger development, they still need to perform up to the standards of championship winners. Oscar Piastri will work hard for the upcoming Singaporean GP and hopes to have a much better outing there than in Baku.

Also Read: Lando Norris Hits out at Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ‘Underdog’ Label After Dutchman’s Azerbaijan GP win