The Italian acknowledged that at one stage there was a possibility that the Australian might have missed some of Saturday’s sprint day track action in order to focus on being fit for Sunday’s main event.
In the end Piastri greatly impressed the team by not only completing the weekend but also finishing a respectable 11th in the Grand Prix.
“We had a couple of points during the weekend in which we needed to evaluate ‘Is it better to rest now to make sure that we are okay on Sunday?',” said Stella when asked about Piastri.
“So I can certainly admit that we made this evaluation a couple of times. We were very well supported by our team doctor.
“And I would like to acknowledge that the overall medical support was excellent in assisting Oscar, like his team.
“But Oscar was always very calm, and 'Okay, let's try, I'll get in the car. If I can't do it, I will box.
“And then he always found the resources to go through the session. But yes, at a couple of points we thought, 'let's think that we want to be okay on Sunday, not now.'."
Source: Autosport