Stella aims to recreate Ferrari's golden era at McLaren

Andrea Stella, Team Principal of McLaren F1, has outlined his vision to recreate the success and continuity of Ferrari's dominant era in the early 2000s.

Stella, who worked as an engineer at Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn during that period, believes instilling seniority and continuity were instrumental to the Scuderia's five consecutive championship doubles.

In a recent interview on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast, Stella highlighted the extraordinary quality and continuity of Ferrari's personnel as the foundation of their dominance.

He praised the likes of Jean Todt, Brawn, Schumacher and engine expert Pino D'Agostino, stating:

"Some of them even accepted to stay in a certain role, knowing that they were absolutely ready to pick one or two higher levels had they gone to another team."

"But they accepted to stay in that role because that's what was needed to create what was possibly the strongest team that we have seen in Formula 1."

Stella suggested this continuity and "brick by brick" team building approach was something McLaren missed during Fernando Alonso's tenure from 2015 to 2018.

Since taking over as Team Principal this year, Stella has restructured McLaren's technical departments and upgraded its facilities.

He has also recruited over a dozen senior personnel, notably Red Bull's Rob Marshall and Ferrari's David Sanchez.

Stella likened these high-profile hires to the all-star lineup he worked with at Ferrari.

"We want to compete with Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari. In itself it's a daunting mission, and we need to be well equipped," he stated.

The additional "horsepower" these experts bring will be crucial for McLaren's development, especially looking ahead to the 2026 rule reset.

However, Stella emphasized that McLaren's existing staff deserve credit for the team's much-improved form in 2023.

Consecutive double podiums in Japan and Qatar came through developments by current personnel, not new recruits.

Stella said next year's car will also be down to "the people that are already at McLaren."

With McLaren's upgraded infrastructure now fully exploited, he is confident further progress is achievable.

Nonetheless, by strategically adding senior figures like Marshall and Sanchez, Stella aims to replicate the continuity and expertise that made Ferrari such a dominant force.

If he can recreate that environment at McLaren and maximize their new facilities over time, they could yet challenge F1's top teams again.