McLaren crew principal Andrea Stella believes the Ferrari-esque tradition on the crew helps it compete for the constructors’ title heading into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Having not gained the crew championship since 1998, McLaren can finish that barren run on the Yas Marina Circuit, the place it heads into the grand prix weekend 21 factors away from Ferrari.
Lando Norris is second within the drivers’ championship, having pushed four-time winner Max Verstappen additional than anybody else this yr however the crew has had its eye on the constructors’ prize all season.
Taking the crown would seal a outstanding turnaround for McLaren, which completed a distant fourth within the standings final yr.
Stella, a former efficiency and race engineer at Ferrari, was requested what the primary variations are between the 2 squads – however the Italian as a substitute centered on what he noticed because the shared cultures.
“[It is an] Attention-grabbing query, as a result of once we discuss tradition, there’s many angles, many features that you would be able to contemplate to outline the tradition,” he stated forward of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“However truly, earlier than we speak in regards to the variations, I’d say that there are some fundamentals which are very, very related. The dedication of the folks, the fervour.
“Typically I hear like the fervour within the Italian crew and extra of a chilly method [here], which I can undoubtedly say that is not true.”
Andrea Stella, Crew Principal, McLaren F1 Crew, within the Crew Principals Press Convention
Photograph by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Pictures
Stella beforehand labored alongside world champions Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari and was a part of Scuderia when it final gained the constructors’ title in 2008.
“The motivation, the fervour that we’ve got within the McLaren crew is unquestionably comparable with what I used to be used to once I was at Ferrari,” he stated.
“Striving for excellence is one thing that’s in frequent. It is a straightforward dialog to have with folks saying we have to elevate the bar and everybody understands and everybody tries their greatest. So truly for me, shifting from one crew to the opposite, I did not need to assume otherwise.
“I feel what I’ve undoubtedly discovered that was very highly effective at McLaren was that once we had settlement, once we recognized frequent options, once we put in place some sort of, let’s name it, guidelines, behaviours, or what altogether, ideas, that may kind the tradition, then I feel the crew members, the folks have been fairly constant in sticking with what was agreed.
“And on this sense, this made progress simple. It was attainable to progress primarily based on plans. It was attainable to progress primarily based on what we agreed all collectively that ought to have been the journey of the crew.”
Photographs from Abu Dhabi GP Follow
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Method 1
Ferrari
McLaren
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