McLaren's Rise Faster Than Ferrari's Schumacher Era: Andrea Stella's Bold Claim
McLaren leads the constructors' championship by 268 points, while both their drivers, Piastri and Norris, are vying for the drivers' title.
McLaren's recent transformation has been so rapid and effective that its current trajectory may even outpace the legendary Ferrari era under Michael Schumacher, according to team principal Andrea Stella.
Speaking on Friday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Stella reflected on his past with Ferrari and expressed astonishment at the scale and speed of McLaren's resurgence.
The Italian, who served as an engineer at Ferrari during Schumacher's dominance in the early 2000s, now leads a McLaren team that is dominating both the drivers' and constructors' championships in 2025.
Stella, who joined McLaren in 2015 after more than a decade at Ferrari, emphasized that drawing direct comparisons between eras and teams can be tricky, particularly given his different roles in each organization.
However, he admitted that McLaren's current rate of development stands out.
'It's always difficult to compare across seasons," Stella said. 'In this case, we are comparing across teams, and even myself, I was in a very different role, so my field of view, my perspective was very different."
During Schumacher's golden run from 2000 to 2004, Ferrari secured five consecutive drivers' titles and six consecutive constructors' championships, with the 2004 season being especially dominant—15 wins from 18 races.
McLaren's Dominance in 2025
In stark contrast to their recent struggles, McLaren has surged to the front of the grid in 2025. After finishing fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2023, the team has won 10 of the first 13 races this season and holds a commanding 268-point lead over second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' standings.
Their driver duo—Oscar Piastri of Australia and Britain's Lando Norris—are currently locked in a close fight for the drivers' title. Piastri leads Norris by 16 points, while Max Verstappen, the reigning champion and Red Bull ace, trails by a distant 81 points in third place.
Despite the commanding lead and consistent performance from his drivers, Stella is unwilling to label the championship battle as a closed contest.
'Definitely not," Stella said when asked about whether Verstappen was out of the Championship race.
'I only agree with mathematics. So once mathematics tells us that's the case, then I'll change my answer."
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