Stella agrees with Verstappen about "remarkable" Piastri: 'An interesting prospect for F1'

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said it was "remarkable" to see what Oscar Piastri is doing in Formula 1 in just his second season.

For the second time in 2025, the Australian will start a Grand Prix from pole position, this time at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after another fine performance in Q3.

While teammate Lando Norris faltered down in P6, the Australian did what was expected with the fast McLaren. Max Verstappen was not surprised by that, and neither is McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.

After a question from GPblog, Verstappen explained during a press conference for the Dutch media how Piastri has developed into a title contender. Stella also sees the progress the youngster has made. Again, after a question from GPblog, the Italian expressed his admiration for Piastri but is not surprised.

Piastri impresses not just with his pace

"I am impressed but not surprised. I'm not surprised because for us, like I always repeat, it was very apparent pretty much straight away that we were dealing with a driver with incredible natural talent, but associated also to some particular characteristics, I would say," Stella said.

"I've always said that there's no noise in Oscar's head, which is a very useful characteristic in Formula 1, and I think this allows him to progress, to process information, to process what's available in the situations as a way of improving himself at a very fast rate."

Piastri will start his 50th F1 Grand Prix on Sunday in the desert of Bahrain, with Stella amazed at what the Australian has already done during his time at the pinnacle of motorsport.

"So, for being race 50 in Formula 1, certainly what he's achieving is pretty remarkable. But what I can say is that considering his qualities, and considering the way he approaches race weekend, and his Formula 1 experience, I think he will be able to sustain this growth and this trajectory for the years to come. So, it's a very interesting prospect for the entire Formula 1, I would say," Stella concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen