McLaren make Oscar Piastri prediction after 'uncharacteristic' Baku weekend

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella does not expect to see Oscar Piastri repeat the costly errors that unfolded during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

Piastri crashed out of qualifying in the opening minutes of Q3, cementing his starting position in the midfield.

The championship leader then made a false start by releasing his clutch before the lights went out, and as he rectified his mistake,  he dropped to the rear of the field.

His race came to a premature end only moments later at Turn 3 as another error saw him lock up and spear into the barrier, marking his first non-finish of the season.

As Piastri aims to close in on his first world championship, Stella does not believe the Australian will make such mistakes again.

“These errors that we've seen on Oscar's side, they are definitely uncharacteristic,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“Oscar has been the most solid driver in the 2025 campaign so far, and from what I can see, even with multi-champion drivers, sometimes you have a weekend which is all about learning.

“And I think Oscar concentrated some learning opportunities in this weekend, despite his will.

“The start, it's just for an excess of eagerness. I'm sure we have seen this now, and we won't see this anymore.

“In terms of the lock-up, similar to yesterday, he just misjudged the level of grip available.

“Perhaps this was compounded with a slow start, with the false start. We don't know yet. This is not relevant, really.”

Stella is not expecting Piastri's slump to continue into Singapore in over one week's time, stating he will only emerge from the disappointment as a stronger driver. 

“But I think one of the strongest features of Oscar is how rapidly he learns, how rapidly he improves, and now he can come back stronger,” he said.

“That’s why he's been so successful in every category, and I think that's exactly what will happen in his F1 career, and we will see it in the remainder of the season.”