McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the present generation of drivers stands above all previous eras, having observed the sport since 2000.
Formula 1 has long experienced fluctuations in grid strength. In one notable past season, six World Champions – including icons such as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel – competed simultaneously.
More recently, however, the sustained dominance of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen has restricted the pool of title challengers, with only nine new race winners emerging throughout their era at the front.
Despite that backdrop, Stella argues that today’s field is stronger than ever. He notes that nearly half the current drivers are performing at a level he considers capable of fighting for the championship, reflecting a depth of quality unmatched in the sport’s history.
The arrival of first-time winners such as Oscar Piastri, now a genuine championship contender, has further highlighted the growing competitiveness across the grid.
Stella attributes this remarkable standard to the rigorous, highly specialised training modern drivers undergo from a young age.
In his view, this systematic development has produced a generation whose skill, preparation, and adaptability surpass anything previously seen in Formula 1.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella says Formula 1 is currently enjoying the strongest driver line-up in its history, offering high praise as the season draws near its end.
“I think what we see in this season in Formula 1, in terms of competitiveness – and this is something that you may pick for a little bit of analysis – I don’t recall that there was such a competitive pool of drivers in any other season,” he said to media.
“The new generation of drivers, they’re just so good, and now you have seven, eight drivers which are at World Championship level. Like I say, I’m not sure this has happened before.
“Potentially this is because of how good the junior categories now are. These guys, they go karting and they have the data. They train at a certain level when they are adolescents.
“This has made the competitive field extremely, extremely tight, and therefore the difference is in this last one per cent.”
