Oscar Piastri’s difficult weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has highlighted a crucial lesson in risk management, according to former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner. Piastri’s struggles in Baku, which included qualifying errors and race incidents, underscore the importance of consolidating performance rather than pushing recklessly after mistakes.
The Australian driver, who is leading the F1 world championship, faced a challenging race weekend in Baku. After crashing during qualifying, he was forced to start ninth on the grid. Piastri then jumped the race start and was handed a five-second penalty. In an attempt to regain lost positions, he hit the barriers and retired on the opening lap.
Despite this harsh outcome, Piastri managed to limit his damage in the championship standings as his teammate Lando Norris also struggled for pace, resulting in Piastri losing only six points in their title battle. Steiner believes this testing experience will not have a lasting negative effect on the young driver.
Reflecting on the Impact of a Tough Weekend
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Guenther Steiner emphasized that Piastri showed composure following the disappointing weekend, acknowledging the disappointment but remaining grounded.
“But hopefully he’s got it out of the system now,”
Steiner said. “But he was pretty cool afterwards. He said, you know, it was a shit weekend, they happen, you know.
“To all normal human beings, it happens. I had a lot of shit days, and you just get up again and go again.
“How should we speak about a lot of other drivers who had more than one shit weekend? I mean, Oscar had one shit weekend, and that’s it, you know. I think he can recover pretty quickly from it; done and dusted.”
– Guenther Steiner
Steiner’s comments suggest that while the Baku weekend was a setback, it is also a transient phase in Piastri’s rookie season, which has been largely smooth aside from a few errors. The incidents in Azerbaijan stand out as a crucial moment for learning and growth.
Learning to Manage Pressure and Risk
Steiner explained that Piastri’s mistakes in Baku stemmed from an eagerness to compensate for his earlier errors, leading to a chain reaction of misjudgments. The desire to immediately recover lost ground increased the risk, causing his premature exit from the race.
“It’s only one weekend, so it’s all done, and now he starts fresh,”
Steiner said.
“Get it out of the system, boom, I go now again – he just wanted to watch the race from that position in that chair,”
he added jokingly.
“That’s what he was dreaming of. It was a childhood dream of his, and that is how he did it!”
– Guenther Steiner
Steiner highlighted that the series of mistakes began during qualifying and carried into the race. Piastri’s impulse to push harder to erase errors led to misjudging his braking point, which ultimately caused the collision with the barriers.
“I think what he learned out of it is, if you do something wrong, it’s no point to try and make it up by making more mistakes, by taking too much risk. But it all started in qualifying.”
– Guenther Steiner
This insight underscores a key moment in Piastri’s development as a driver: accepting that recovery must be calculated rather than impulsive. Steiner’s perspective offers reassurance that Piastri is likely to move past this experience with a stronger approach to managing setbacks.
What This Means for Piastri’s Championship Fight
With the championship battle heating up, Piastri’s ability to absorb lessons from his Baku weekend will be critical. The Australian has shown consistency throughout the season but now faces a test in maintaining composure under pressure. Steiner’s confidence in Piastri’s resilience indicates that the McLaren driver remains a formidable contender alongside teammate Lando Norris.
As the season progresses, Piastri’s adaptation to this new lesson about balancing risk and reward after errors could determine the trajectory of his title challenge. Learning to reset and approach races with patience will be essential for turning frustration into future success.
