One of many drivers having to change their style to adapt to the 2026 cars, McLaren boss says Oscar Piastri must stop thinking about his issues with the MCL40.

After 14 rounds of the 2025 world championship, Oscar Piastri, with 284 points, had a 9-point advantage over his McLaren teammate, while Max Verstappen was on 187 and George Russell had 151.

The Australian had 6 wins under his belt and six other visits to the podium, he went into the final race of the season 16 points adrift of his teammate but still in with a chance of claiming the title.

This season he has yet to score a win, while two trips to the podium leave him seventh in the overall standings and 66 points adrift of his teammate.

The Australian is one of many drivers who are said to be having issues adapting to the new generation of F1 cars because they don't suit their style, the problem being that the 25-year-old is taking that much longer.

Team boss, Andrea Stella believes that the answer to the problem is to stop Piastri thinking about his issues with the car while he is actually driving it.

"With Oscar we need to qualify better, stay closer to the podium finish positions from the start," says the Italian. "In Monza he was P3 at the end of qualifying but somehow we managed to start P6 for the impeding.

"There are several circumstances of which we need to take more control," he continues. "We need to execute better and then at the same time we need to get more in tune between Oscar and the MCL40 because still Oscar is driving and thinking. And when you drive and think, things get slowed down, slower as a driver in terms of deciding what to do and ultimately you are slower in terms of lap times.

"So I think the agenda is very clear as to what we have to improve and I expect," he adds, "like I always say, that we will get on top of that and we will see a stronger Oscar in the final part of the year."

"I've certainly not gelled as well with this year's car as last year," Piastri admitted in Spain. "I think everyone has to change their driving style a bit from year to year, obviously that's our job. That's part of why we're here is because we need to adapt. And definitely this year's been a bit tricky in trying to get through a few things, and we've tried a few different directions. Sometimes you just need time to find the right one."