Top 3 Current F1 Drivers According To McLaren Team Principal

Tuesday, 12 December 2023 at 09:00

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed who the top three drivers on the grid would be if there had been equal engines.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has a rich history of experience in Formula One. The Italian has worked with the best drivers in the World, including F1 World Champions like Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso.

It seems like the 52-year-old might be one of the best people in Formula One to rate drivers based on his own experience. Stella told dazn.com:

“"My top 3 drivers with the same cars would be Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso."”

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Seeing the three-time World Champion on the list is not that surprising after the past three seasons he has had. The Dutchman won three consecutive World Championships in a row and has a decent chance of extending his streak.

Moreover, no teammate was able to beat Verstappen in the last six years, and in 2023, he beat his teammate Sergio Perez (a very good and experienced driver) by 290 points in the Championship.

The team principal's three-name list also includes Lando Norris, one of his current drivers. Norris is considered by many to be one of the best drivers on the grid, even though he still hasn't achieved his first race victory. Stella said:

“"When I think about Lando, I think that if the team and I gave him a good car, he would be able to fight for the championship."”

The team principal is known for becoming very good friends with Fernando Alonso throughout their years of working together in Ferrari and McLaren. However, that does not take away from his rating of the double World Champion.

“"When we talk about being the most complete, I definitely think of Fernando Alonso. He basically has no weaknesses. I think this makes him unique. He is not the best in many things, but he is very strong in all of them."”

Do you agree with Andrea Stella on these top three drivers? Or would you add somebody else like Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, or George Russell?