Oscar Piastri is still building the relationship between himself and McLaren race engineer Tom Stallard.

The pair have spent five race weekends together thus far, on top of a pre-season aimed at helping ease their way into the 2023 campaign.

While that has set their relationship off on the right foot, they are still learning about one another.

“We’ve been working together really well,” Piastri began.

“He’s got a lot of experience in F1. A lot of experience in elite level sport as well.

“With more race weekends, we’re getting to know each other’s style better and better.

“We did a lot of work before the season to make sure we’re speaking the same language and working on the same wavelength. I think we did a very good job of that,” he added.

“There’s some things that you just don’t find out about each other until you’re under the pump in qualifying or in the race, but I think it’s been really, really good.

“There’s not been any complaints – just small, little things that we could change, but on the whole, it’s been really good working with Tom.”

Elite level experience

Stallard is a former rower, winning silver for Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Shortly after returning from China, he joined McLaren as a race engineer and has worked with Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, and now Piastri.

The young Australian has made a positive impression with his first five races in F1, building his race weekends in a way mature beyond his years.

He’s proved a close match to team-mate Lando Norris, too.

In Miami, he suffered a brake-by-wire issue that compromised his pace for much of the race.

However, he persisted and reached the chequered flag in a performance that impressed team boss Andrea Stella.

In his opening five grands prix, four have been street circuits – a figure that will become five in six when F1 reaches Monaco next weekend following the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.