Andrea Stella highlights the change ‘formidable’ Oscar Piastri made to become an F1 title challenger

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Oscar Piastri is contesting only his third season on the Formula 1 grid in 2025, yet the McLaren star can now become the first Australian to win the drivers’ title since 1980.

Just two Australians have ever won the F1 drivers’ championship to date, with Jack Brabham triumphant in 1959, 1960 plus 1966 and Alan Jones the king of the world in 1980. Piastri can join the exclusive group in 2025 if he denies McLaren teammate Lando Norris the big trophy.

Norris now leads Piastri by just one point atop the standings with four rounds of the 2025 F1 season left in Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The Briton went above his papaya pal last time out in Mexico City, having trailed the Melbourne native since round 5/24 this April.

Red Bull ace Max Verstappen has outscored Piastri in each of the past five rounds, too, to go from 104 points shy of first place after the Dutch Grand Prix in August to trailing Norris by 36 points. Verstappen has not topped the standings at any stage of the 2025 F1 season so far.

Andrea Stella sees Oscar Piastri’s improved ‘pure speed’ as his biggest change compared to 2024

Piastri has come on leaps and bounds in his third season on the grid this year to fight for the title. Norris had largely dominated the 24-year-old in the last two terms, yet they are tied at 10-10 in their Grand Prix qualifying head-to-head. Norris leads Piastri 12-8 in results in 2025.

READ MORE: F1 2025 teammate head-to-heads, including Grand Prix results and qualifying

Qualifying had largely been Norris’ stranglehold over Piastri, having won their 2023 head-to-head 15-7 and their 2024 battle 20-4. But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella noticed the work that Piastri put in during the winter to improve his “pure speed” and launch a title tilt.

Stella told Beyond The Grid: “I think the main step has been a step of awareness. Awareness in terms of his abilities [and] awareness in terms of where he needed to improve.

“There was great work that happened during the winter. And Oscar has this formidable quality that when he understands what he needs to do, he goes and does it.

“Sometimes when you are not very talented, you may understand what to do. But then your arms and your feet, they just don’t do it. So, Oscar, the main step he made from one season to the other is pure speed.

“He’s just a faster driver. When you are a faster driver, this creates the capacity for pretty much all the rest. It’s not like you can be a better driver if you’re not a faster driver. Oscar is simply faster. And if anything, we are still within this development.”

Andrea Stella thinks Oscar Piastri ‘still’ has to work on improving in ‘particular’ conditions

Piastri scored his first career F1 pole position in China this March when he edged Mercedes’ George Russell in Q3 by only 0.082 seconds. Yet only Verstappen of Red Bull with seven has earned more poles in 2025 than Piastri’s five, but Norris has also scored five poles this year.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Norris took his most recent pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, which the 25-year-old converted to win by 30.324s over Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in P2. Piastri finished the Mexico City GP in P5 and 42.065s behind Norris, and Stella admits the Australian struggled.

Stella believes the Mexico City GP showed Piastri’s problems in “particular” conditions, and where he still needs to improve. The now-former drivers’ championship leader struggled to adapt to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s limited grip levels, on which Norris excelled.

“We saw even in Mexico, very particular conditions,” Stella explained. “Oscar is year three in Formula 1. And the very particular conditions of Mexico, he has faced them just a few times.

“So, he still needs to go through like, let me elaborate what is going on here. And already made a big step from Saturday to Sunday, just because he understood what needed to be done. He goes there and he does it.

“So, [Piastri is] a great talent in terms of evolving, developing [and] once he understands what’s needed to be done. And [his] biggest step from last year, pure speed.”