Stella says Piastri struggle 'not psychological'
McLaren boss Andrea Stella rejects talk of a psychological slump, pointing instead to Oscar Piastri's difficulties in low-grip conditions after a lonely P6 at Zandvoort.
Andrea Stella has pushed back against any suggestion that Oscar Piastri's growing difficulties relative to Lando Norris are psychological, insisting the problem remains technical and linked to low-grip conditions.
Piastri finished P6 at Zandvoort, 32 seconds behind his winning McLaren teammate, after struggling badly on the hard tyre.
"Last year we had seen already with Oscar that from a technical driving point of view, when the car has this low level of grip, like we saw last year, for instance, in Mexico or in Austin, he needs to adapt the way he drives, the way he thinks, the driving, his expectations."
"And this requires, I would say, a bit of mental effort, which gets him to lose a couple of tenths of a second."
But the McLaren boss was clear about how he interprets that.
"I don't think it has anything to do with any psychological kind of opportunity. "This is purely technical," said the Italian.
Stella said Piastri's race was also hurt by McLaren itself.
"When we pitted to cover Russell, actually we lost the position to Russell because of a slow pitstop. And this is up to the team, not up to Oscar."
By contrast, Stella said Norris was particularly strong in low grip conditions - but believes Piastri is still progressing.
"I'm happy with the improvements that I've seen during the weekend," he said.
"And I'm sure that there will be even more for the rest of the season."
Related: Norris wins again as Piastri hunts for pace
