Oscar Piastre Baku Crash: Andrea Stella Invokes Michael Schumacher To Defend McLaren Driver

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has backed Oscar Piastri to learn from his mistake at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, stating even champions like Michael Schumacher made similar mistakes.

Piastri, who stalled his car at the start of the race, hit the wall on the opening lap after attempting an overtake at turn five.

It saw Piastri’s run of 34 consecutive points finishes come to an end, while team-mate Lando Norris was able to reduce the gap in the drivers’ championship to 25 points after the British driver finished seventh in Baku.

Despite a disappointing weekend for Piastri, during which he also hit a wall in qualifying, Stella believes it will help the Australian driver in the long run.

“I have worked with multi-champion drivers, and in a season - every season, even the most dominant - even by one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1, like Michael Schumacher, I have seen events like this,” said Stella.

“Events in which the most you take away [from the weekend] is the learning, because things become, for some reasons difficult, and as soon as you misjudge the grip available, you get highly punished.

“So, a one-off weekend in which things don't go his way, and he ultimately had a loss to review. It is no surprise, no exception that we should not be worried about it, because this has happened to pretty much all champions, even the ones with the best track record.

“He comes out with no points and lots of learning. And I've already had a chat with Oscar and his mind is already fully functional, processing, he's already into thinking, 'that's what I've learned. I look forward to the next one'.

“I think one of the strongest features of Oscar is how rapidly he learns, how rapidly he improves and how he can come back stronger. That's why he's been so successful in every category.”