McLaren name surprise factor behind F1 success

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stated having “no superstars” at the squad has helped shape its current successful period.

The Woking-based squad has won 11 out of the 14 grands prix staged so far this year, giving it comfortable leads in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

It has enjoyed strong progression up the pecking order across the last two years, having implemented a highly successful development plan.

Stella stated McLaren's development rate has been faster than anything he experienced in the past, including a highly dominant period in the 2000s with Ferrari.

“Well, it’s always difficult to compare across seasons,” Stella told media including RacingNews365 when asked how the current dominant campaign compares to ones he has enjoyed in the past.

“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.

“But if I had to pick a couple of features of the journey that is happening here at McLaren, I would say the rate of progress that we have had in a couple of years is in itself pretty unique.

“Possibly the rate of progress itself was even faster than what we experienced at Ferrari in the very competitive times.”

When Ferrari was at its most dominant period in the 2000s, it was with Michael Schumacher as the face of the team, who won five consecutive F1 titles from 2000 to 2004.

Stella highlighted his McLaren team has been set up very differently from the Maranello-based squad, detailing there is no one single individual responsible for its current position at the head of the field.

“The second one is that there are no superstars,” Stella added.

“It’s like a proper team journey, and this includes even the drivers. 

“So, I would say these are the two main features that are peculiar of the journey that we are having at McLaren right now.”