Before Andrea Stella followed Fernando Alonso from Ferrari to McLaren in 2015, he was the engineer at Maranello for Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and then Alonso himself. And today he says the Spaniard is the most successful F1 driver.

In addition to the two-time champion, the Italian of course also counts the three-time champion Max Verstappen among his own top 3 active drivers in the sport and of course one of the drivers from McLaren, whose racing director he took over at the beginning of 2023: Lando Norris, who after the radical redesign of the MCL60 has climbed onto the podium seven times at this year’s F1 GPs since June. In fact, Stella recently praised the young Brit again.

“The three best drivers in the same car have to be Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso. Stella said. “Lando is already one of the best in this sport. He is very fast, very good at racing and at tire management. When I think about Lando, I think he could fight for the championship if we gave him a good car.

When we talk about the most complete driver, I definitely think of Fernando Alonso. He basically has no weakness. I think that’s what makes him unique. He’s not the best in many areas, but he’s very strong in all areas.added the McLaren F1 commander.

Stella also spoke about his team’s new driver Oscar Piastri, who made 2023 the most impressive first year for a rookie since Lewis Hamilton in 2007. “Oscar is very talented and I would like to say smart. His mental abilities are very high and he has very interesting characteristics. I would say he is very calm.

In Oscar I see his strong spirit, he is undoubtedly like Fernando. Can perform mathematical calculations while driving. On the other hand, Lando’s development will also make him just as complete. He reminds me a bit of Fernando”concluded Andrea Stella.