McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has addressed Oscar Piastri’s recent performance struggles at the Hungarian Grand Prix, specifically regarding the driver’s frustration over the team’s upgrade schedule. Piastri has trailed teammate Lando Norris throughout the weekend in Budapest, a gap that the driver attributed in part to not testing the team's new floor until Saturday.
Stella stated that the primary factor behind Piastri’s difficult start to the weekend was his absence during the first practice session. Piastri sat out FP1 to allow rookie Leonardo Fornaroli to take the wheel, which limited the time available for the team to evaluate the new components and for the driver to adjust to the track conditions. The team maintains that this missed track time had a more significant impact on his performance than the delayed introduction of the upgraded floor.
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