Latest news with #AndreaStella
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Front wing changes a waste of money, says Hamilton
BARCELONA, May 31 (Reuters) - Formula One's stricter front wing flex tests have made no difference and the money spent on making changes would have been better given to charity, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton said on Saturday. The rule change had been eagerly awaited for the Spanish Grand Prix weekend with some hoping it might help slow runaway leaders McLaren. Instead, the Woking-based team swept the front row at the Circuit de Catalunya with championship leader Oscar Piastri on pole position and his closest rival Lando Norris more dominant than ever. "It has not made a difference," said seven times world champion Hamilton, who qualified fifth with hopes of reaching the podium. "It's been a waste of money. It's just wasted everyone's money. Everyone's wings still bend, it's just half the bending, and everyone's had to make new wings and spend more money to make these," added the Briton. "It doesn't make sense... I would have given that money to charity." McLaren boss Andrea Stella said his team, runaway leaders in the constructors' standings after six wins from eight of 24 rounds, had always considered the 'game-changer' talk to be overblown. "The technical directive was a big talking point. It was quite immaterial. It was always going to be minor when you look at the numbers," the Italian told Sky Sports television. "It entertained to have this kind of debate but our simulations said everything was very small. We weren't concerned from this point of view."
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Guardian
New F1 wing rules are talk of pit lane in Spain but McLaren still out in front
All the talk in Spain this week has been about the potential impact of the FIA's clampdown on the flexing of front wings and the governing body's hope this might close up the pecking order on the grid. Certainly those chasing the dominant McLaren were hopeful that might be the case. The technical regulation was imposed as teams look to push the boundaries of the rules, with a flex in the wing under load affording the maximum downforce in corners. In order to maintain a level playing field, the wings must now pass a deflection test measuring the leeway of flex in the wing. This has been reduced from 15mm to 10mm. Such is the minutiae that engineers and regulators adore, but where it matters is in racing terms. The adjustment was brought in over concerns that McLaren were exploiting it to their advantage. The FIA decided to impose a reset but the front wing is such an integral part of the car and it allowed time to develop the new models until now, the ninth round of the season. Red Bull have intimated their doubts over McLaren's wing legality front and rear. The regulations on the rear wing were tightened for the Chinese GP and McLaren still emerged on top. Their team principal Andrea Stella had been bullish that the changes would have no effect on the strengths of their car and believed it meant their rivals were focused on the wrong things. Then there are teams such as Ferrari, who have not exploited the potential advantages as much as other squads and who may hope to make gains by their rivals losing a little. Team principal Fred Vasseur admitted they had been working 'for ages' on what he considered might be a 'game-changer'. There is also the consideration that it may affect tyre degradation, given it is a key part of the airflow over the car. This is an area where McLaren have had their biggest advantage, able to push harder and longer on their tyres, a strength which will be particularly notable on the high temperature and high-speed Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya which puts a heavy load through the rubber. Whether this is the case will not be truly discernible until the race and the teams put in a full stint in the blazing sunshine on a circuit that offers the ideal test bed to ascertain how these changes have panned out. McLaren's Lando Norris, who won at the last round in Monaco and now trails his teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri by just three points, was convinced the changes would have no effect on McLaren and indeed the team had already debuted their new version of the wing in practice at Imola. Certainly in first practice they appeared to have nonchalantly shrugged off the changes. Norris was once more comfortably quickest, over three-tenths clear of Max Verstappen in second with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in third and fourth for Ferrari, with Piastri fifth. Verstappen, the defending champion, has already noted he did not expect the changes to make a major difference to the Red Bull and his team principal Christian Horner said he believed it was too early to tell if there had been any impact on other teams. 'The change is reasonably subtle, but it is reasonably significant,' he said. 'Now, whether it's a net or same effect for each of the teams is difficult to tell. Still early days but the net effect to us has been rather small.' By the end of second practice the pecking order however remained very familiar – Piastri over two-tenths clear of the Mercedes of George Russell, Verstappen third, Norris fourth and Leclerc fifth, suggesting it is very much plus ça change in Spain and leaving McLaren with a firm hold on the championship.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says Lando Norris showed 'cold blood' in Monaco win
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella predicted the 'cold blood' victory from Lando Norris in Monaco could mark the start of a charge from the Brit in an ominous warning to his title leading teammate Oscar Piastri. Norris claimed his second victory of the year and his first since the opening round at Albert Park in Australia when he capped a near-perfect weekend in Monte Carlo. Claiming the victory from pole position ahead of local hero Charles Leclerc, Norris closed the gap in the championship battle to Piastri to just three points. Piastri finished third to claim a seventh straight podium this year, only missing the dais in the season-opening race in Melbourne when he finished ninth after skidding off track in the wet. The 24-year-old has earned widespread praise for his cool demeanour behind the wheel with four wins so far this year as he bids to become Australia's first Formula 1 world champion in 45 years. But it was Norris who was this time praised for the 'cold blood' he showed en route to a victory Stella tipped could be the start of things to come for the 25-year-old this season. In a race which came under fire for new rules requiring drivers to change tyres twice in a bid to improve racing on the infamously tight Monaco street circuit, Stella said Norris had shown the characteristics Piastri has been hailed for. 'We know there was going to be a lot going around his head, a lot of communication with the engineers, the strategists, etc and he was just calm, cool throughout,' Stella told reporters in Monaco as per 'I think Lando kept the high standards, the quality of execution and the lucidity that he has had throughout the weekend, I have to say. He was faster from lap one in FP1 and he kept building, to capitalise on a pole position. 'And …. he went through various situations which required cold blood, I would say. 'So, I really think that Lando deserves to be praised for a very, very well managed and executed weekend. And I think this is just the start of many more coming in the future.' Norris made up 10 points on Piastri in the championship standings, intensifying the battle between the papaya teammates in the race for this year's crown ahead of the next round in Barcelona this weekend. The pre-season title favourite, Norris has come under fire from some quarters, including former Australia F1 champion Alan Jones, for his lack of mental toughness. But he fired back at his critics following his 'dream' Monaco win. 'People can write what they want. It's not up to me,' Norris said. 'People have their own opinions, they can do all of these things. Thing is, none of them are true, 99 per cent of the time. So, it's all crap. 'I don't mind what people write as long as I know the truth and my team know the truth, and that's fine. 'I've been working hard over the last few months to get back to having that momentum that I had in Australia, that confidence. 'What I felt this weekend was a small step forward, but it's not it. It's not like I've nailed it now and everything's back.' For Piastri's part, Stella said the Australian, runner-up in Monaco last year, had struggled to find a usual 'rhythm'. 'This year, unlike last year, Oscar struggled to keep the rhythm. At times, he struggled a bit with the car, especially with some nervousness of the car in low speed,' Stella said. 'And this is also why, even in qualifying, it took him a little bit of time to build the proper speed and he stepped a little one step behind compared to the full potential that he could have expressed. 'So, more than absolute speed, it's the consistency of the speed that I think he missed throughout the weekend. I think there's a few things that we need to review on Oscar's side, but overall, a very positive weekend. 'We always say, with both Lando and Oscar, that championships are made of consistency. So, when you cannot be as fast as you want, stay there. Sometimes you will not be able to win, but stay there and this is ultimately what Oscar has been able to (do).'
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
McLaren boss snaps back at critics after Max Verstappen showed them up
Apples, pears and peaches were on the mind of Papaya boss Andrea Stella as the Italian responded to suggestions McLaren may have lost their overall advantage to Red Bull McLaren boss Andrea Stella got in three of his five a day as he gave a fruity response to suggestions that his team has lost form. They have largely dominated the season so far, winning five of the seven Grands Prix held. The only other team to have tasted victory is Red Bull with Max Verstappen securing his second win of the year in Imola last Sunday. The Dutchman pulled away from the McLarens with ease in his upgraded Red Bull, in stark contrast to two weeks earlier where no-one could touch Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. But Stella refuses to accept any suggestions that things have soured for his Papaya-coloured team. "I am in disagreement with this statement," he said, when asked why his team had underperformed at Imola. "I think there's a tendency to compare apples and pears. When I was at school the teacher always said, 'Don't compare apples and pears – make sure you are specific, analytical, precise in how you use information. "Imola belongs to the category of tracks like Saudi Arabia and Japan. High-speed corners, narrow tracks and if we look at those circuits' pole position, it was Red Bull. And in the race in Saudi, if it hadn't been for the penalty for Max, Max would have won the race. "If we look at the pace between McLaren and Red Bull in Japan and in Saudi, for me the picture is very consistent with the picture we had in Imola. But if we compare the race in Imola with the race in Miami, we are comparing an apple with a pear, and my school teacher would grab my ear and say, 'Don't compare apple and pears'. "Miami is a low-speed dominated circuit and with all the aerodynamic investment we have done, our car has improved massively in these low-speed corners. If we want to compare Miami, let's look back at what happened in China, where the two McLarens disappeared, and Bahrain where Oscar dominated and Lando started in P6 but still he managed to recover positions." So if low-speed tracks like Miami are apples and rapid circuits like Imola are pears, what is this weekend's Monaco street venue? "This one is a peach," Stella replied. "This one is a complete one-off. I wouldn't be surprised if, say, Ferrari is the lead car, so we will see. "Maybe we do a few more races and we create some better, exact categories. I'm very curious to see whether for instance Baku will be a pear or a peach, I suspect it's a peach, so we may continue this trend." Article continues below His prediction looked a reasonable one by the end of yesterday's running, which saw Charles Leclerc top the timesheets in both practice sessions. And Lewis Hamilton was third quickest in FP2, just one-tenth behind his team-mate despite Ferrari's pre-event warnings that they would likely struggle at such a low-speed track. They were split by Piastri who suffered a setback when he buried his front wing into the barrier during FP2. And Norris was the fourth quickest driver while Verstappen was only 10th in the order, continuing a Red Bull trend of struggling for one-lap pace on Fridays.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Meet the brain behind McLaren's F1 rocketship – with rivals playing catch-up in Imola
On a weekend where fanatical home supporters will bask under the Imola sunshine on the hills surrounding this gloriously old-school circuit, desperate to see their beloved Ferrari outfit turn a corner, it is in fact an Italian donning papaya who is brimming with glee amid his team's current dominance of Formula One. Andrea Stella, the ex-Ferrari engineer now thriving in his role as McLaren team principal, is usually talkative. A deeply respected presence in the paddock, the 54-year-old is candid and uninhibited in his analysis and opinions. Friday's FIA press conference was no different. His first answer to moderator Tom Clarkson was more than six minutes long, encompassing a range of topics; from his love of Imola in what is set to be the circuit's final furlong on the F1 calendar to a thoughtful tribute to Fernando Alonso's long-serving physio Fabrizio Borra, who died this week. Yet his biggest smirk was saved for a question about McLaren's rivals – left languishing in the lurch after the first six races of the season – complaining about suspicious elements of this year's McLaren rocketship. McLaren's long-awaited re-emergence as the top team last year was met with questions surrounding their so-called 'flexi-wings.' In recent weeks, a theory regarding the team's tyre temperature management – with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris preserving their rubber better than the rest of the field – was met with ridicule by McLaren CEO Zak Brown at the last round in Miami. Was water being injected into the tyre rubber to cool them down? McLaren laughed off the suggestions. And Brown could not help but mock the suggestions, with a water bottle on the pit wall in Florida labelled 'tire pressure.' American spelling and all. An official complaint to the FIA was dismissed by the sport's governing body on Wednesday. 'For us, it's good news when our rivals get their focus on us rather than on themselves,' Stella said on Friday, with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur unable to hide a small snigger himself. '[When they focus] on, allegedly, stuff present in our car… effectively they are not even present. 'Let's say, flexi-wings, like a front wing deflection like everyone has, it has nothing to do with the reason McLaren is very competitive. 'So, I hope that in the future there will be more of this kind of saga, because it means that our rivals keep focusing on the wrong things. 'This is just good news for us.' Eight out of the 10 teams this weekend in Imola – the first European race of the season – have brought upgrades, including all the leading contenders. But the initial impressions on the timing screens on Friday showed little reason to foresee change come the race on Sunday. In both practice sessions, McLaren secured a one-two placing with championship leader Oscar Piastri – ahead by 16 points – once more holding a slim advantage over his teammate Lando Norris. McLaren's status as the quickest team, which is now hitting the 12-month mark, has undoubtedly left the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull reeling. Questioned further on Friday about why teams could not replicate McLaren's speed, Stella was comically stroked on the arm by Vasseur, clearly in a playful mood. 'I would like to give the wrong answer here, so I put all our rivals down the wrong route!' Stella joked. 'The only thing I can say is that, for me, over the years in Formula 1, I have learnt that you have to focus on yourself and focus on the fundamentals. 'I think when you get too distracted by what the others are doing, it's normally an alarm bell that you ring in your factory and should remind you to go back to the basics.' Stella has performed a remarkable job at McLaren since replacing Andreas Seidl as team principal in the 2022-23 off-season. Making key executive decisions, such as the hiring of ex-Red Bull designer Rob Marshall and the promotion of aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou, has resulted in a car incapable of being caught in normal dry conditions. Brown, the big boss of the team as an entity, has regularly heaped praised on Stella, calling him the 'best team principal on the grid.' Unlike many others, who are more spokespeople than engineering figures, Stella is cut from a different cloth. His direct and engaging persona is a massive feather in McLaren's cap. And if practice is anything to go by, McLaren will take some stopping here in northern Italy. Instead, the question should not be which team can take pole but, rather, which driver? Norris has endured a torrid month or so – can he turn it around at what is one of his best tracks? Possibly so. But, increasingly, it's looking like an intra-team battle. Max Verstappen has the raw speed but not the machinery to match; George Russell is in a similar situation. Yet for Ferrari, more issues on Friday with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc complaining about issues with their brakes. Another issue in the in-tray of Vasseur, who will be unable to cover up his team's failings with humour for much longer.
