McLaren offer Piastri staggering compliment after costly Australian GP mistake

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has labelled Oscar Piastri as one of the mentally strongest drivers he has worked with.

His comment comes after Piastri suffered a heartbreak result at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Piastri was running in second place for much of the race and look to be on course for a podium finish on home soil, which would have seen him become the first Australian to score a top three result at the event.

As rain hit the circuit late on, both Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris slid off the circuit on dry tyres.

Norris was able to recover and went on to win while Piastri spun into the grass. He eventually climbed back to ninth place.

Despite the difficult circumstance, Stella asserted Piastri's mental strength will see him quickly move on from the incident.

“I just met Oscar here for a very quick moment, and I just told him that he will have many satisfactions this year,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“He is fast and the car seems to be fast as well. So today was just an unlucky race.

“The good thing with Oscar is that you don't have to do much of the psychological exercise convincing him not to get too upset with himself or with the situation.

“He’s one of the mentally strongest driver that I've ever met. So I'm sure in China he will be back, and very soon he will have important results.”

Stella also commended Piastri for how he navigated the race and the feedback he provided in difficult conditions.

“Oscar was deserving to be in contention for the victory until the last moment,” he said.

“He drove exceptionally well. And when I use the verb ‘driving’, that's not only driving the car around the track, but it's also the assessment of the conditions, of the decisions that we should have taken.

“It was very lucid, very calm. He’s starting his year three in F1, but he looks like one of the most expert drivers that I’ve worked with.

“So extremely impressed by Oscar today, just a little bit unlucky.”