Andrea Stella draws comparison between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher’s years in Ferrari. Andrea Stella reflects on Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher's time with Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso’s character is not fully reflected in his trophy cabinet, which includes two world titles and thirty-two victories. Only this year, the Spaniard has displayed his determination and grit on several occasions, such as his defense against Sergio Perez in the Brazilian Grand Prix, who was not able to finish ahead of the Aston Martin driver at the Interlagos circuit despite having a clearly much faster car.

Throughout his Formula One career, Fernando Alonso has often found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even his years at Scuderia Ferrari did not yield the best results, narrowly missing the dream of another driver’s championship three times.

In a recent interview, Italian engineer Andrea Stella, currently the team principal of McLaren F1 Team, discussed the differences in the experiences of Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher at Maranello, which had opposite outcomes despite undeniable talent in both:

“It’s an interesting question. With Fernando, we came very, very close to success in his first year at Ferrari, which is very different from how Michael started his journey. He secured three victories thanks to his immense talent rather than a technical advantage of the car. In Michael Schumacher’s case, there was a real process. Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and James Allison came on board; there was a lot of continuity, understanding where to improve, and adding piece by piece. This was missing in Fernando’s era. We could certainly have achieved it, but we needed time: that approach had been established in the mid-nineties at Maranello,” said the Italian on the Beyond The Grid podcast.

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Andrea Stella worked as a performance engineer for Michael Schumacher (2002–2006) then alongside Kimi Räikkönen in the following two season. The Italian was promoted to the role of Ferrari race engineer for Kimi Räikkönen in 2009 and then also worked with Fernando Alonso during the Spaniard’s time with the Maranello team.