Fernando Alonso Glad For Andrea Stella On Winning The Constructors

Fernando Alonso and Andrea Stella, both of whom today are competing against Ferrari where it comes to the Drivers’ and Constructors’ title fight, were once united in effort and that too, at the Maranello-based team.

It was a great bonding. It was a special duo.

There was a time where Andrea Stella, presently, the team principal of the McLaren F1 team was Fernando Alonso’s race engineer at Ferrari. Together, the two packed a punch and came desperately close at knocking down the brilliant and racy Sebastian Vettel back in those days.

Alas, Ferrari powered by the focus of Alonso and the guidance of Stella came close but couldn’t usurp its archival of those days: Sebastian Vettel, who eventually happened to clinch four back-to-back drivers’ titles.

But in some ways, Andrea Stella would be a delighted man today. Even though he didn’t have at his disposal the magic powers of Fernando Alonso, he had the mercurial brilliance of two commanding drivers- Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and the duo helped McLaren to clinch a first Constructors’s crown since over two last decades.

And for this special achievement, one thoroughly deserved by current McLaren team principal, Fernando Alonso paid tribute to his former race engineer.

Speaking to the media recently upon the completion of the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of 2024, Fernando Alonso expressed his delight for Stella. He was of the view that the missed chance of 2010, which was his maiden assignment with the Scuderia family, had now been accounted for given the success achieved by McLaren under its racing boss, Andrea Stella.

As a matter of fact, Fernando Alonso and Andrea Stella were to unite again in their post-Ferrari era with the dynamic duo entering McLaren in 2015. Even as it was a lean phase for both Alonso as a driver and the 53-year-old Italian team principal of the British marquee, the bond between the two didn’t wither away. It only found respect and regard as the seasons went by.

Moreover, the classic F1 fan who, it could be argued, has seen Senna’s prominence at McLaren and the epic rivalry with Prost, would also be happy for McLaren given its whirlwind success in 2024. It’s been something in the works and something the celebrated racing outfit long deserved.

Factually speaking, Norris, ever since his arrival at the team, has lifted the spirits of the entire camp and under the warm guidance of someone like Zak Brown has been able to transform the fortunes of the famed outfit. The overall quartet including Piastri and then tied to the troika comprising Norris, Stella and Brown seems very strong and it won’t really be much of a surprise to find the papaya-liveried outfit beating the racing blues out of their opponents come the next season.

Wouldn’t you agree?