THE MICHAEL SCHUMACHER EFFECT: HOW ANDREA STELLA BUILT MCLAREN'S NEW DYNASTY
Andrea Stella is the first McLaren boss this century to guide them to a championship one-two finish. Rubens Barrichello explains Stella's Schumacher-inspired success.
Andrea Stella is the only team leader this century to guide McLaren to a championship one-two finish.
After McLaren's major improvement over the last three years, fans hope Andrea Stella sticks around longer than Ron Dennis did after Lewis Hamilton's 2008 title.
When Oscar Piastri first joined McLaren, he and Lando Norris struggled to get out of Q1.
But by 2025, they were battling for the drivers’ title, with Norris winning at the last race.
Stella wasn't eager to become McLaren's team boss. It took a lot of convincing from CEO Zak Brown for him to take over from Andreas Seidl.
Former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello says he knew Stella would do great at McLaren based on his time with Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher had huge success with Ferrari, and Stella was key to his five straight championships.
Barrichello talked about his time at Ferrari on the Flow Podcast.
He said this about his work with Schumacher: They kept getting better, and Andrea Stella, who’s now the head guy, was a telemetry engineer [at Ferrari].
You have a mechanical engineer and a computer engineer, right? They download all the data and look at graphs and everything.
He was Schumacher’s engineer, right? And I watched him closely.
My guy was good, but this guy was on another level.
I pay attention and like to learn.
Often, Schumacher would finish a meeting, go somewhere else, and not call me. I’d grab my chair and sit there, waiting for someone to tell me to leave.
There was no rule saying I had to leave. So, I was like, I’m here; I’m part of this team too; I want to learn.
So this Stella guy, I hung around, and we became friends.
Barrichello added that he sees how Stella's experience with Schumacher affects his leadership at McLaren.
Stella's important role in Schumacher's Ferrari success shows what a great asset he is to McLaren now.
Schumacher built Ferrari's last title-winning dynasty in the early 2000s. Only McLaren's poor management in 2007 allowed Ferrari to win the title that year with Kimi Raikkonen.
One thing Schumacher's Ferrari and Stella's McLaren have in common is that they built the team around a few trusted people.
Schumacher wanted Ferrari to stick with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, and Rory Byrne despite a slow start. It paid off fast.
Stella has done much the same thing at McLaren, bringing in Rob Marshall and trusting Peter Prodromou more.
Stella wants to copy Schumacher’s testing plan for next year’s regulation changes. He's sure his team will put McLaren in the best place to face 2026 and after.
KIM KARDASHIAN AND LEWIS HAMILTON SPOTTED ON ROMANTIC EUROPEAN TOUR TOGETHER
Kim Kardashian and F1 star Lewis Hamilton are turning heads across Europe as insiders reveal Kim's "Russell Wilson" nickname.
Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton are the latest celebrity duo making waves, and apparently, Kim’s already got a cheeky nickname for him. The two have been spotted out together in the Cotswolds, London, and Paris, just enjoying themselves and turning a few heads in the process.
Word is, Kim’s close friends are spilling a few details about this new romance. One insider claims Lewis isn’t looking to settle down right now, but Kim still has a special name for him—she calls him “her Russell Wilson”. If you know the reference, it’s a nod to NFL star Russell Wilson, who married singer Ciara after her high-profile breakup with rapper Future. Friends say Kim thinks of Lewis as a “sophisticated upgrade” from her ex, Kanye West.
Kim and Kanye—now legally known as Ye—were married from 2014 to 2021 and share four kids. Their co-parenting relationship is famously complicated.
Kim’s reportedly a bit anxious about how Kanye will react to her new thing with Lewis, considering Kanye and Lewis were friends back in the day. One source told the Mail, “They’re both cautious about Kanye’s feelings since he and Lewis go way back. Kim’s living for herself these days, but she doesn’t want to poke the bear. They know this could set Kanye off, so they’re keeping it light and just having fun for now.”
Kim and Lewis first crossed paths years ago at GQ’s 2014 Men of the Year Awards. Back then, they both showed up with their now-exes—Kim was with Ye, and Lewis was with Nicole Scherzinger.
Kanye even had Lewis over for Easter one year. He talked about it: “Lewis Hamilton’s over at my house, and we’re playing some music in my studio. We’re having Easter brunch—my wife’s family, my friends, everyone’s there. And everybody’s like, ‘What is this music?’ and I’m like, ‘It’s Lewis Hamilton’s music.’”
Since splitting from Ye, Kim’s dated Pete Davidson and moved on. Kanye’s remarried, too—this time to Australian architect Bianca Censori.
Those two have been in the headlines a lot, usually for their wild fashion choices. Things got especially wild when Bianca showed up at the Grammy Awards in a see-through gown. She arrived in a black fur coat but ditched it to reveal a sheer dress that left little to the imagination. People at the event were definitely stunned.
FERRARI SF-26 COMPLETES 121 LAPS IN HISTORIC LEWIS HAMILTON-LECLERC BARCELONA DEBUT
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed a "productive" 121-lap debut for the Ferrari SF-26 during 2026 testing in Barcelona.
Ferrari kicked off its on-track work for the 2026 Formula One season with a steady first day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc split driving duties in the team’s bold new car, and the whole thing felt like the start of a new chapter.
With the 2026 rules shaking up both the chassis and the power unit, Ferrari didn’t chase lap times. They zeroed in on checking systems, making sure their data lined up, and ironing out any reliability kinks. The weather threw a few curveballs—rain, some dry patches—but even so, they got through their plan and stacked up plenty of laps.
Leclerc seemed upbeat after his first taste of the new machine. He said it felt good to get back behind the wheel and start figuring out the car, even if the focus was just on systems and not raw speed. “We came here to understand how everything works,” he said. “With the weather mixed up, today was all about checks. We finished what we set out to do, and the car did what we expected. It’s a solid start and a decent base.”
Hamilton, now officially in Ferrari red, felt the same. For him, it was a busy day—lots of on-track time, plenty of new things to get used to—but he called it productive. “We got good mileage, learnt a lot, and didn’t hit any big issues. That’s what matters with so many changes coming in. This gives us a strong platform for the next few days.”
Ferrari’s Head of Track Engineering, Matteo Togninalli, stressed how important it was just to get through the day cleanly. “Given the conditions, it went well for us,” he said. Rain or not, they racked up the laps and—most importantly—avoided any real reliability problems. That’s the top priority when you’re shaking down a brand-new car and engine.
Performance talk? Still way too early for that. Right now, Ferrari’s just learning how this new car behaves, gathering data, and building up bit by bit as the days go on—keeping their focus squarely on themselves.