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Oscar Piastri compared to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso by McLaren boss

Originally posted on HITC | By David Comerford | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 11:20 AM ET

Oscar Piastri is only in his second full Formula 1 season, but McLaren boss Andrea Stella has already seen shades of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso in him.

Stella got his start with Ferrari’s test team and played a part in all five of Michael Schumacher’s world titles between 2000 and 2004. He later worked as the German’s performance engineer from 2002 to 2006.

Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso both called on Stella as their race engineer at Ferrari, before he joined McLaren in 2015. Since then, he’s held several roles including head of race operations, performance director, racing director and most recently team principal since December 2022.

Piastri stepped up to Formula One with McLaren for the first time last year, just as Stella was settling into his new role. It didn’t take long for the Australian to catch his eye either—within the first 15 races, Stella was already seeing flashes of what made Schumacher and Alonso so successful.

Oscar Piastri on why even Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso had ‘weaknesses’

Looking ahead to 2025, Piastri has a chance to become just the third Australian driver to win the F1 drivers’ title while Stella is in charge of McLaren. The 24-year-old currently tops the standings with 284 points after 14 rounds, having taken six Grand Prix wins and standing on the podium a dozen times already this season.

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Piastri also appreciates that Stella noticed “weaknesses” in both Schumacher and Alonso, despite their impressive track records. Schumacher claimed 38 of his 91 career wins while working with Stella between 2002 and 2006, while Alonso picked up nine of his current career total under Stella’s guidance.

Piastri told F1’s official website: “It’s interesting just listening to what those drivers were like and what other people were like because, especially people like Michael and Fernando that Andrea has worked with, they’re not exactly bad drivers.”

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“So, listening to what makes them good, and also in some ways what their weaknesses were in some cases, is always interesting to hear. I think just knowing that these people who won multiple world championships still had weaknesses is a nice thing to know as well.”

“So yeah, I think I’m not a perfect driver. I don’t think there is anyone [who’s] perfect. But to be compared to some of the best that have ever raced in F1 it’s a nice thing to have.”

What Andrea Stella has said about Oscar Piastri comparing him to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso

Piastri’s rise through Formula Two did not go unnoticed either; Stella picked up on familiar qualities during the Australian’s championship campaigns before he ever turned a wheel in F1. He won back-to-back F3 and F2 titles as a rookie in both series across 2020 and ‘21.

Photo by Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Stella said about Piastri ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix: “The values he brings into the collaboration with the team, in this sense make me think about Michael…”

“I think we have really good examples now on the grid of drivers who can keep being extremely competitive at ages that we didn’t think would be obvious because of an attitude to continuously improve. So this one I think is a similarity with Fernando.”

If successful this season under Stella’s guidance he would join Jack Brabham (1959/60/66) and Alan Jones (1980). Fernando Alonso did not win a title with Ferrari during Stella’s tenure but finished runner-up three times (2010/12/13), losing by four, three and 155 points respectively.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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