McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has excluded Lewis Hamilton from the three Formula 1 drivers he would consider to have an edge over the rest in equal machinery.
Hamilton is statistically the most decorated driver in F1 history, having accrued an equal-best seven World Championships and a record 103 victories and 104 pole positions.
Although he hasn’t added to his win tally since December 2021, the Briton excelled amid Mercedes’ struggles to place behind only the dominant Red Bull drivers in 2023.
However, asked to rank the three best pilots in the sport, Stella snubbed Hamilton in favour of two drivers he’s worked with and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen.
“My top three drivers with the same cars would be Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso,” Stella told DAZN.
The ex-Ferrari race engineer is convinced that Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri share similar traits to Alonso, who he regards as the “most complete” driver in F1.
“Oscar is talented and let me say intelligent,” he added. “His brain capabilities are very high. He has very interesting characteristics. I would say that he is very calm.
“Lando is already one of the best drivers on the grid. He is very fast, very good in the race, with tyre management.
“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.
“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.
“I think that in Oscar I see his powerful mind, he is definitely like Fernando. He can do mathematical calculations while driving.
“On the other hand, Lando, I think his development as a driver will make him so complete. He reminds me a little of Fernando.”
Stella was promoted to the role of team boss this time last year but endured a challenging start at the helm as McLaren struggled with an underdeveloped launch-spec MCL60 car.
However, the Woking-based squad then became a regular front-running contender with the addition of a substantial upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix in July.
Norris and Piastri utilised McLaren’s renewed competitiveness to amass nine podiums, which enabled the team to end the season fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
“For us, for McLaren, it has been a positive season,” Stella added.
“Exhausting, we are feeling the fatigue, but at the same time we have pleasant feelings plus satisfaction for these results we are achieving. We are proud of what we have achieved.”
While Piastri pipped Verstappen to victory in the Qatar Sprint race, neither the Australian rookie nor Norris was able to usurp the Dutchman in the Red Bull in a grand prix.
But as McLaren aims to make further progress over the winter, Stella has urged his side to not become distracted by reducing the outstanding deficit to the Austrian outfit.
“I think Max Verstappen is completely out of place,” he acknowledged. “To think that he is there and that we can fight with Red Bull because they are very strong.
“Look at what they have achieved this year and I am sure that they still have a lot more to unfold. As if they could take another step. Better to stick to our own thing and maintain our internal journey. And see where we can be more competitive.
“I’d like to see Zak Brown [McLaren CEO] punching in the garage as much as possible. Because apparently when the results are good, he high-fives you really hard, so we’d like to see him punching in the garage, smiling, and being happy means that good things are happening.”
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