McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed his fear that history could repeat itself at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, losing the title in a similar way to Ferrari in 2010.
Before his tenure at McLaren, Stella enjoyed a lengthy stint at Ferrari, rising to the rank of race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010.
Entering the final round, Alonso held the lead in the championship, able to clinch it with ease, momentum very much with the Spaniard.
But Ferrari’s pit strategy proved poor, and he exited the pits in front of the Renault of Vitaly Petrov in seventh, where he remained, costing him the title.
With Lando Norris holding a similar lead entering the final round, the parallels of that fateful race and this year’s Abu Dhabi GP are not lost on Stella.
“Interesting parallel, he told media including Motorsport Week. “In a way, I think the parallel this year fits even better than last year.
“Last year, we were playing the constructors’ championship, the drivers’ championship was already closed as a matter.
“We go with three drivers into the final race. It’s Abu Dhabi.”
Learning lessons from the past
Relieving his and Alonso’s loss in 2010, Stella highlighted tyre graining, a critical factor in the decision to bring Alonso in, hinting McLaren will be watching for this in the title decider.
“There’s graining, which was an important factor in 2010 as well.Like some of the cars that pitted, they pitted because there was a safety car and there was also graining happening on the tyres,” he said.
“So there’s certainly a level of parallel. At the same time, it’s far enough in time that not necessarily you can take technical learning, perhaps not even strategic.
“What you take is, if anything, part of the racing mindset, how you want to enter these kinds of events.”
Stella still feels a sense of pride at being part of such an iconic race, even if it ended in defeat, believing it helped him grow.
“You always want to make sure that you enter these events remembering that it’s a privilege to be part of this page of history, of Formula One, which will be the case independently of the outcome,” he said.
“When it comes to me personally, thinking about 2010, at that moment in time, it was definitely very painful.But I think the impact it had on the character, on understanding the real ethos of being a sport person, and the fact that you grow thanks to the success and thanks to the times at which you are defeated.”
So for me, actually, when I think back to 2010, it’s a moment that I’m proud of. I’m proud that I was part of it, I’m proud that in that season we actually, in a way similar to now, we found ourselves in a condition to fight Red Bull, when probably from a technical point of view, we didn’t have comparable material.”
“And this was thanks to the execution from a racing point of view and a great driver.”
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