SEPTEMBER 22, 2025

Piastri punished for Baku performance

McLaren endured a nightmare weekend in Baku, as championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed in both qualifying and the race to end his long run of cool consistency.

Oscar has been the most consistent driver this season so far, team boss Andrea Stella noted, adding that the Australian had finished 44 races in a row prior to Sunday.

He was severely punished for small mistakes. He will learn from this. This has happened to even the greatest champions from time to time, like Michael Schumacher.

Sky Deutschland pundit Ralf Schumacher, however, was less forgiving. Looked like a sudden loss of talent, he said.

It's good for (Lando) Norris to see that his teammate can also make mistakes. The pressure is on now, and it won't leave anyone unscathed.

Stella admitted the otherwise dominant McLaren car struggled as much as the drivers over the weekend. The car didn't deliver the grip, predictability, and consistency that the drivers usually need to fully exploit, he said.

As soon as Oscar pushed the limit a little, it was a disaster. On tracks with heavy braking and tight corners, our car doesn't deliver the best performance. Fortunately, most tracks aren't like this one.

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko pointed out that Max Verstappen's relentless presence and sudden return to form is shaking McLaren.

It's not that common for a McLaren driver to fail to finish, he said. But I always say - you have to be as close as possible to make them nervous.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers, meanwhile, blasted McLaren's operations.

They have an incredibly dominant car, he told Viaplay. "Andrea Stella is building that team around himself, but I saw the same thing with Andreas Seidl - he was also so hyped.

They have a fantastic car, but their strategy is poor, and the drivers are inconsistent. If you put Max, Russell, or Leclerc in that car, you'd have a completely different championship.

(GMM)