Michael Schumacher’s seventh championship win was iconic in many ways. Firstly, he was the first-ever driver to reach the mark. Secondly, he remains, to this day, the only F1 driver to win five consecutive world championships. And finally, with 13 race wins out of 18, it marked his most dominant season. One man who played a massive role in this success was Andrea Stella.
Stella is currently the McLaren team principal and prepping the team for winning the 2024 championship. If successful, he will establish McLaren as the team that broke one of the most dominant runs in the history of F1. However, there was a time when he was at the helm of Schumacher’s fate, the man who was enjoying a purple patch of his own.
Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, to name just a few of the race-winning drivers Andrea Stella has worked with!
Here’s what you need to know about our new Team Principal and his journey in F1.
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 15, 2022
Stella served Schumacher as his performance engineer. The role required him to be the first point of contact between the driver and the mechanics. Ultimately, his job boiled down to giving the Ferrari ace the car with the setup that suited his driving style the most. Easier said than done, Stella himself narrated how complex his role was.
Speaking on the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, he said, “You fundamentally look at the data, make sure you assess and extract as much performance as possible for the car and the driver. So, maximizing the car from a setup point of view, tire utilization point of view but also driving, and how you drive it in the fastest possible way.”
Stella remembered the free hand the teams used to enjoy over the electronics back in the day. Those systems included the traction control, torque control, braking differential, etc. While it gave the engineers more freedom, it was another thing for the drivers to worry about while driving.
That is where a performance engineer used to come in to make things simpler. Stella remembered, “Sometimes the driver would say, ‘Is this the component of traction control or other component of traction control.’ So, you needed to be totally in the face with the driver.”
Schumacher’s star ensemble at Ferrari
While Schumacher deserves all the praise in the world for the incredible feats he achieved in his time in F1, it would be unfair to forget the good work put in by the people around him. Stella was only one of those many who included the likes of Ross Brawn and Mattia Binotto.
Brawn has played the role of technical director and team principal for multiple teams after his stint with Ferrari. Before retiring, he served F1 as the managing director, Motor Sports and technical director between 2017 and 2022. Binotto, meanwhile, went on to take the reigns of Ferrari as the team principal. Currently, he is working with Audi for the team’s launch in 2026 as their COO and CTO.
Schumacher not only enjoyed a great camaraderie with these heavyweights, but also the mechanics in the team. He was famous for knowing each mechanic by their name, their spouses, and what their children did. That sort of bond and the team spirit motivated each member to perform to the maximum of their potential.
