Alonso, Schumacher, and Räikkönen as seen by Andrea Stella

Beyond the emotion that logically animated Fernando Alonso during his victory in Valencia, history will remember that the three men on the podium – Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Michael Schumacher – were all significant drivers, if not champions, of Scuderia Ferrari.

First an engineer in the test team of the Prancing Horse, Andrea Stella was quickly promoted in 2002 alongside Michael Schumacher, where he served as the German’s race engineer. Stella immediately experienced success with the Kaiser, who was champion in 2002, 2003, and 2004. However, he had to wait until 2007 to taste the joys of the supreme title again with Kimi Räikkönen.

Associated with Fernando Alonso since the latter’s arrival at Maranello in 2010, the Italian has not yet won the world title with the Spaniard, but he can now boast about working with three of the most iconic drivers of the last fifteen years: « Michael is a superb driver, very solid in races and very strong in the way he controls the rear of the car. He was very talented in this area, even if he could sometimes be a bit too aggressive in races. Kimi was very, very fast when the car operated within a certain window: under these conditions, he can be the fastest. But when the car is not in this operating window, he has to work harder to find the optimal car setup. And with Fernando, his strength is that, fundamentally, he has no weakness! At the wheel, he is solid as a driver, in all conditions, from dry to extreme rain. Outside of the car, he is very consistent and mentally strong, which is very important in modern Formula One, » judges the Italian on the official site of the Scuderia.

The Italian engineer also reflects on the start of the season for Scuderia, which allows Fernando Alonso to currently lead the driver standings: « At the start of the season, one would have had to be extremely optimistic to imagine such a situation. But in this sport, things can change quickly, and we must always maintain a positive attitude. The current situation is the result of this attitude combined with a lot of hard work. »

But Andrea Stella believes that the driver/engineer relationship is very important and has played a significant role in the recovery of the Scuderia: « Our relationship is stronger and we know each other better. From my point of view, and the same goes for the other engineers, it’s important that we know what the driver wants and what he needs to go fast: this aspect has improved over the two and a half years I’ve worked with Fernando. For now, things are going well, so let’s hope it stays that way. »