“You want to race in a clear way”: Andrea Stella dives deeper into Oscar Piastri’s ‘elbows out’ racing against Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia

Andrea Stella believes that Oscar Piastri going “elbows out” with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is more about crafting a narrative. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after the Saudi Arabian GP, he explained that the McLaren driver’s clear objective was to race fairly and cleanly.

Winning three out of the five races in 2025, Piastri has earned praise for his effortless racing skills and his composed approach to going wheel-to-wheel with multiple champions on the grid. He has not shied away from an aggressive but respectful style of racing. In Saudi Arabia, his moves on Hamilton and Verstappen showcased a clean yet assertive driving style.

McLaren F1 team principal Stella believes that the “elbows out” image makes for a good story in articles, but that, in reality, it was simply tough and fair racing. He emphasized that seeing the checkered flag is a key objective discussed within the team for both drivers. He believes it is important for the drivers to maximise their abilities while racing within the regulations.

Asked by Sportskeeda about Piastri’s mindset and ‘elbows out’ approach on track against Verstappen and Hamilton, Stella said:

“All elbows out is a metaphor which I think works very well when we have to create a narrative for an article. It’s fair enough, given as a Formula 1 fan I would love to read an article with ‘elbows out’. But this kind of narrative when it comes to programming drivers with their mindset, the approach of a team, that’s not how you look at things. You wanna race within the regulations, you will race in a clear way, you want to race maximising what is available.”

“We always say when we discuss our objectives of a race, that we want to see the checkered flag. There’s no point in being right and not seeing the checkered flag. That’s the way we go racing, we go racing in a very fair way. The ‘elbows out’ is a narrative that is not a part of our internal conversations, nor I think it should be a part of the way the drivers go racing. It’s tough, like I said before it’s tough racing, but it needs to be fair racing and within the regulations.”

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Andrea Stella reckons Oscar Piastri’s move on Lewis Hamilton was a result of a suggestion by Lando Norris’ engineer

Andrea Stella believes that Oscar Piastri’s move past Lewis Hamilton was made possible thanks to crucial information shared by Lando Norris’ engineer. Norris had been stuck behind Hamilton for several laps, attempting to pass twice without success. The McLaren F1 team principal revealed that Norris’ engineer, Will Joseph, alerted Piastri’s engineer that the best chance to overtake Hamilton would be into Turn 1. Stella praised the teamwork and coordination on the pit wall that contributed to securing the win.

Stella likened the Saudi Arabian race to the tense races often seen in Baku, where the outcome can remain uncertain until the checkered flag. He felt that Oscar Piastri was fully in control during his move on Hamilton and confident in his decision-making. Stella also commended the seven-time world champion for being a clean and fair competitor, noting that Hamilton did not attempt disruptive tactics like intentional braking to hinder the McLaren driver.

Asked how tough it was for Oscar Piastri to get past Hamilton, the McLaren team principal said:

“Well if you give me the opportunity here to actually tell you a story. The story is that Lando’s race engineer proactively told Oscar’s race engineer, ‘We struggled to get past Lewis because we attempted twice in corner 27 and he passed us back in corner 1, so make sure that Oscar knows that and gives it a go directly in corner 1.’ I was very proud of my people to hear that, I didn’t need to prompt anything. I was just a spectator and an example of the great team spirit and teamwork we have at McLaren. Well done to Joseph, well done to Tom Stallard, well done to the team people.”

Asked what his feelings were when he witnessed Oscar Piastri overtake on the outside, Stella said:

“Today for me was one race like Baku. In Baku it was very tense if you remember, with Leclerc. But somehow I was so calm, because it was one of those in which Oscar was in control and he knows very well what he is doing. So personally I didn’t have any kind of exciting moment there. He was very confident and he was very in control of the situation and like I said, I think he also knew that corner 1 was his chance. I also personally think that Hamilton is a very very fair competitor, and he knew that if it wasn’t that corner there was the next corner where there was an opportunity. So I don’t think he was braking to create the most disruption to Oscar’s lap. I was really calm.”

With three wins from the first five races, the pressure is mounting on Lando Norris to step up to his calm and composed teammate, Oscar Piastri. In Saudi Arabia, the win could have gone to Max Verstappen, who had started from pole position, had he not received a penalty for an incident at Turn 1 on the opening lap. However, the McLaren championship leader executed everything perfectly from his second-place starting position to secure the victory. Had Verstappen won, he would have taken the lead in the championship after Jeddah.

Oscar Piastri now leads the drivers’ championship with a total of 99 points, followed by teammate Norris in second with 89 points. Verstappen sits third, 12 points adrift of Piastri, with 87 points. In the constructors’ standings, McLaren leads with 188 points, ahead of Mercedes in second with 111 points. Red Bull is third with 89 points, followed by Ferrari in fourth with 78 points.