The Italian conceded that at some stage the Australian might miss some of Saturday’s sprint-day track events in order to focus on getting ready for Sunday’s main event.

In the end, Piastri impressed the team, not only finishing the weekend but also finishing a respectable 11th in the Grand Prix.

“We have a couple of points over the weekend where we need to evaluate ‘is it better to rest now to make sure we get on well on Sunday?'” Stella said when asked about Piastri.

“So I can definitely admit we did a couple of those assessments. We had a lot of support from the team medical.

“I will admit that the overall medical support has been excellent in assisting Oscar, as has his team.

“But Oscar was always very calm, ‘Okay, let’s try, I’ll get in the car. If I can’t do it, I’ll punch.

“And then he always finds the resources to get the meeting done. But, yeah, there were a few points where we thought, ‘Let’s think we want to be okay on Sunday, not now.'”

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after the sprint at Parc Ferme

Photography: Zak Mauger / motorsport pictures

Stella admitted that the nature of the Baku street circuit made the situation even more tense for Piastri, the only one of three F1 rookies who did not have a major incident at the weekend.

“It’s the hardest because of how close you are to the wall,” Stella said.

“It’s a moment where you hit a wall, as we’ve seen with a lot of drivers this weekend, even in the top cars, so it’s definitely an issue that requires a lot of clarity and focus.

“Sometimes Oscar would come out of a session and say, ‘I’m really tired.’ It was funny, he was fine in the sessions, and then he kind of dropped off.”

After the game, Piastri put on a brave face while admitting it had been a difficult weekend.

“I’m fine,” the Australian said. “I think the adrenaline is still kicking in at the moment. But I feel better this morning, which is good.

“And I think through the races, it didn’t affect me too much. I’m a lot lighter than when I started the weekend.

“Today was probably the best day I felt all weekend, nothing to say about that. But yeah, it was physically very difficult. Yesterday, especially, was tough.

“I think I ate about four slices of toast all weekend! So I might need to recover some food before Miami.”