‘Struggling’ Piastri to shake off illness for Azerbaijan GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is confident Oscar Piastri will shake off illness to compete in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Speedcafe understands Australian Piastri has been hit with food poisoning that has affected him over the past few days since arriving in Baku.

Piastri has still performed through the two qualifying sessions attached to the new weekend format, as well as competing in the 17-lap sprint around the Baku Street Circuit.

The 21-year-old Melburnian finished 10th, and although he then managed to get through the immediate post-race range of television interviews, he pulled out of McLaren’s customary written media session later in the evening.

Asked by Speedcafe for an update on Piastri and whether he would be able to compete in the GP, Stella said: “I think he’s going to be okay.

“But today, yesterday, the day before, it’s been a little bit of a struggle, so he’s actually doing very well, I would say, in terms of driving.

“You wouldn’t be able to say from the outside that the driver is actually not feeling very well.

“Oscar is also impressive in the way he deals with that because he doesn’t really want to show it, even to us.

“He keeps calm, he keeps his bearing, but we know that he’s struggling, so he’s doing well.

“But we are positive that for the race, it shouldn’t be an issue. He should be in a better situation.”

The race starts at 3pm local time (9pm AEST), with Piastri starting from 10th on the grid.