Oscar Piastri forced into unnatural change after 'important analysis'

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stated that Oscar Piastri has been forced to adapt his driving style this year in order to extract performance from the car.

Stella noted that these adjustments have been particularly necessary at races featuring high tyre degradation.

Managing tyre wear has been a limitation for the Australian during the early stages of his F1 career, with Piastri often losing pace compared to team-mate Lando Norris as races progressed.

However, Stella has asserted that Piastri has made the required changes to his approach, with the improvements becoming evident this season.

“I think Oscar, like the whole team, has had some ups and downs this season,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“He’s had some strong races. Japan was a very strong race, where McLaren was in contention for the lead.

“What we’ve seen this season with Oscar is that, with the cars producing less overall grip and with some races having very high tyre degradation, we know in these conditions, Oscar has to make some adaptations to his driving style.

“If he adopts his natural driving style, he tends to lose some performance.”

Piastri ended the Austrian Grand Prix in fourth place, his best result since his run to the podium in Miami.

Praising how Piastri adapted to the conditions tha thave hurt him in the past, Stella said: “I’m extremely pleased with how much Oscar cashed in all the learning and work that has done as a team.

“There was an important analysis and activity. We understood a few clues of driving in these low-grip conditions.

“[Sunday], and the whole weekend, Oscar got in the cockpit, and he did it. 

“He deserves this strong weekend, and I think for Oscar, if anything, this is the main opportunity for a driver that is already operating at a very high level.

“Just be fast and consistent in low grip when the car slides a lot, and I think it's very encouraging what he has achieved this weekend.”