Andrea Stella, who is the McLaren-Corriere.it team principal

Back all the way. The Oscars of the most crowded British GP ever — 480,000 spectators over the weekend — go to Verstappen, the F1 tyrant with 99 points ahead of the tender Perez, less than halfway through the World Championship. In Norris and Hamilton, the duel (uneven, Lewis had much faster tyres) for second place won by Lando seems like a prelude to a handover between a champion and a talent with potential champion makings. Statuette to Brad Pitt, the only one really capable of eclipsing Max’s star, when he appeared on the starting grid wearing a driver’s suit for the filming of the F1 blockbuster directed by the director of the Top Gun sequel, Joseph Kosinski.

For Ferrari, extra roles in what should have been the turning point and confirm the progress of Canada and Austria. Macch: Leclerc and Sainz, ninth and tenth, have each lost five positions since the start. a relapse of old evils, serious and worrying. And the opponents multiply.

But there is no air of revenge in Andrea Stella’s face and words, to represent Italy among the top 3. Many compatriots work for McLaren, I joined eight years ago as a race engineer (the same role he held in Maranello, alongside Alonso ed) and I didn’t expect to become a team principal. As I didn’t expect this result, and without the safety car Piastri would have finished third. We thought we could only fight so high at the end of the year. Confidence in an Italian in the team that belonged to Ron Dennis and is now in the hands of the American Zak Brown. Present in the room to distribute vigorous pats on the back to everyone. It was a cultural exchange – Stella continues -, I tried to bring a bit of our culture, I experienced the Ferrari of Schumacher and other great drivers. We are a united group in here, it goes without saying that we are all rowing on the same side. But our journey is still long, to return to fight for victories from 2025. Who knows if the engineer from Orvieto won’t be able to forge ahead.

Ferrari, on the other hand, returns to the phase of understanding that it seemed closed. With a few more grudges in the locker room, sparks in the heads of the pilots, such as those between Charles and Carlos that broke out in qualifying, remain to increase the nervousness in a challenge whose only objective is internal supremacy. Sainz, for example, was convinced yesterday that he was faster than his teammate: Without the safety car (entry due to engine failure on Magnussen’s Haas ed), I could have overtaken Charles, I was going faster. In the final, however, he suffered a comeback from Perez who, by opening the mobile wing, also brought along Albon and Leclerc.

The impression that what made an already bad day worse was the strategy with the early call of Leclerc. For the Monegasque, these are minor issues: The problem was the pace, we knew it would be a tough track for us, but it’s not like that. We were struggling on fast corners and in traction. It was a very disappointing race, strategy has nothing to do with it.

Statements that seem to contradict Vasseur’s thesis according to which prudent choices influenced the result: We focused on tire degradation, we feared it and we didn’t push enough. But we should have tried harder. I wouldn’t do that pit stop so soon. Better focus on Hungary, next stage, track opposite Silverstone. Repair exam. Yet another.