Andrea Stella has been a massive part of McLaren’s dominance over the past year and a half. He stepped in as team principal in prior to the 2022 season, and ever since then, McLaren have been on the rise.
With McLaren’s large advantage in the constructor’s championship, they’ve been adamant about letting the driver’s championship be decided on track. They’ve been letting their drivers race each other hard, but Stella admits it hasn’t always been comfortable on the pit wall.
Andrea Stella admits letting their drivers race doesn’t make their lives easy
Even with a firm lead on the constructor’s championship, this year’s title fight between Piastri and Norris has put the team on edge. Watching their two drivers go bumper to bumper through Eau Rouge in the wet certainly couldn’t have been the most comfortable experience, but Stella says he’s not in F1 to be comfortable.
“If I want it to be comfortable, then I’m not doing the right job,” Stella told Motorsport.com. “I’m not really interested in being comfortable, I’m interested in putting McLaren in the best possible position to succeed.
“Which means competing for the constructor’s world championship and, if possible, making sure that the drivers’ world championship is a matter between the two McLaren drivers.”
And he’s done just that. He’s all but secured the constructor’s championship halfway through the season. He’s also given his two drivers the best chance they may ever get at winning the driver’s title, so to be fair to both guys, they’re letting them race each weekend.
“In addition to that, even if this doesn’t make my life or Zak [Brown, CEO]’s life any simpler, we are also racing in a certain way, which is open, which may give our drivers the opportunity to express their talents, their aspirations, their quality, their constant development.
“That’s what we are here for, and we are very privileged to be in this position. Not only with the team we have, but with Oscar and Lando, who are two great drivers, but above all, two great individuals.”
Life isn’t always easy at the top. Just ask Stella and Zak Brown, who I’m sure are pulling their hair out every time these two are near each other on track.
Stella reveals the deciding factor in the driver’s championship
After 13 races, just 16 points separate Piastri and Norris for P1 in the driver’s championship. So far, Piastri has been unflappable, but Norris has been able to keep the fight close despite some big mistakes early in the season.
Stella thinks the championship will come down to consistent execution. At the moment, Piastri’s got the upper hand in that department, but Norris won’t let him run away with it easily.
“I think the execution is what is going to make the main difference,” Stella said. “We will try and make sure that from a reliability point of view, from a team operation point of view, we are as good as possible, such that it will be the drivers deciding their own outcome in terms of competing for the drivers’ world championship.”
For the first time since 2021, we have a real driver’s title fight that will probably come down to the final race in Abu Dhabi. Both McLaren drivers have dominated at one point or another, so it’ll all come down to who can get hot down the stretch.
