McLaren Boss Stella Compares Piastri's Baku Errors to Schumacher's Past Mistakes

Oscar Piastri experienced a challenging weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, marked by a qualifying crash, a false start, and a race-ending crash at turn five, ending his 34-race points-scoring streak. Despite these setbacks, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella emphasized that such off weekends are common even among the greatest drivers, including seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, with whom Stella has worked. Stella described Piastri's errors as a one-off event and highlighted that these moments are valuable learning experiences rather than a sign of pressure or decline. Piastri still maintains a 25-point lead in the championship over teammate Lando Norris, who finished seventh in Baku, thus limiting the damage to Piastri's title campaign. The McLaren principal expressed confidence that Piastri would recover and come back stronger, reinforcing that the Australian's overall season performance remains solid. This perspective balances criticism of Piastri's mistakes with reassurance about his potential and status as a top contender in the F1 title fight.