Ferrari “very happy” with their car for 2023 season, claims new McLaren team principal Andrea Stella

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is confident about Ferrari’s performance in the upcoming season as he ‘heard’ that they were happy with their 2023 challenger.

While Stella revealed that McLaren are aiming to beat the top teams, including the Scuderia, in 2023, he expects Mercedes to fight for the top spot after a horrible 2022 season. He believes that both the Prancing Horse and the Silver Arrows will have a much stronger start to the season than McLaren themselves.

He said (via PlanetF1):

“The teams to beat in the next F1 season are Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, which are currently competing in a different category from ours.” “I expect a big reaction from Mercedes, even though I know that at Ferrari they are very happy with the new car and so they will certainly have a competitive start.”

Andrea Stella has previously worked with the Scuderia and gained 15 years’ worth of experience from the Maranello-based team. He was the engineer for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen, two drivers who brought glory to the team in red during their prime. He has been promoted to the role of McLaren’s team principal after Andreas Seidl moved to the Sauber group (Alfa Romeo).

With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the 51-year-old believes that McLaren will better their 2022 performances in the upcoming season.

| Andrea Stella on McLaren’s 2023 objectives:

“We must, in any case, remain realistic, aware that we have structural limitations.”

[si.com]

| Andrea Stella on McLaren’s 2023 objectives:”We must, in any case, remain realistic, aware that we have structural limitations.”[si.com]

Andrea Stella confident about Ferrari but doubtful about McLaren’s start to 2023 season

While Andrea Stella has high faith in Ferrari, he is not too sure about his own team. While his focus remains on building a fast car to compete with other teams on the grid, he revealed that the team might not have a very smooth start to the season in March.

However, he is confident about the second half of the year and expects to catch up with other teams.

Hey said:

“I still expect a difficult start, but I am optimistic for the second half of the season. The most important goal is to make a fast car. We need to make up a second, a second and a half on the others.” @formularacers_ Eventually a conversation is going to need to had about McLaren. Doing so little with what appears to be so many resources@formularacers_ Eventually a conversation is going to need to had about McLaren. Doing so little with what appears to be so many resources

McLaren had a tough challenge from rivals Alpine throughout the 2022 season. With both cars rarely scoring points in most races, it was hard for them to pose a challenge against the France-based outfit.

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