In only his second season in F1, Oscar Piastri has quickly become a championship contender of the near future with McLaren. Despite Lando Norris’ seniority in the team, the Australian driver has galvanized the Woking-based outfit around him. His race engineer, Tom Stallard revealed the qualities the #81 driver possesses to achieve that.
Stallard explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast, “His down to earth but still humorous attitude is well received in the team. It makes people genuinely get behind him and move heaven and earth to support him.”
[F1] Oscar Piastri’s race engineer, and olympic silver medalist, Tom Stallard is this week’s guest in Beyond the Grid
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The 46-year-old went on to reveal that Piastri shows constant interest in the team and his teammates — making efforts to create a personal bond with each of them. “That is quite galvanizing,” Stallard explained.
On track, Piastri has his virtues, too. The #81 driver is one of the most calm and collected personalities in the cockpit and it has helped him already rack up two Grand Prix wins this season. Going into 2025, the Australian is being touted as a strong force for McLaren’s title ambitions.
At the moment, however, the team is publicly backing Norris for his championship bid against Max Verstappen. Piastri himself has conceded to help the Briton out but has explained that he will not bend over backward for the #4 driver.
Stallard is fitter than Piastri
While Piastri has a whole squad working tirelessly to help him win at McLaren, Stallard probably stands out with a legitimate sporting and athletic pedigree. The 46-year-old is a former rower and an Olympic medallist for Great Britain.
While on the podcast, Tom Clarkson naturally asked him whether he felt he was fitter than his driver given his own athletic exploits. Stallard went on to explain, “The truth is that rowing is a sport where the primary differentiator is physical fitness. F1 is a sport where the primary differentiator is driver skill.”
Stallard has had quite an extensive rowing career. The crowning jewel was his appearance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won the silver medal in the men’s eight category for the UK. Since then, he’s become a very respected race engineer in the F1 paddock — having previously worked with Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren.
