Andrea Stella shares what Michael Schumacher did in 2004 that he would love to copy at McLaren

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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella will know his team are on the cusp of achieving something very similar.

Lando Norris achieved an impressive victory at the Dutch Grand Prix to keep his faint chances of winning the Drivers’ Championship alive.

However, McLaren have now closed the gap in the team standings to just 30 points with Red Bull left wondering why they can’t make the same steps forward as their papaya rivals.

Andrea Stella has decades of experience in Formula 1 and has worked with some of the sport’s greatest-ever drivers.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

On the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Stella talked about his experience during Michael Schumacher’s exceptional 2004 title-winning campaign.

He’s suggested that the testing Ferrari were able to do that season would be incredibly useful to McLaren now as they chase a very unlikely championship.

Andrea Stella would love to have Michael Schumacher’s 2004 testing regime

Asked if the 2004 season was his most enjoyable in F1, Stella said: “In terms of results and achievements, [it is] one of the most enjoyable.

“One thing I enjoyed very much in 2004 was the winter testing. There’s a winter testing in Imola in which we went with the 2003 and the 2004 car.

“Things that you cannot do nowadays days anymore and they were so instructive for the team and even for the engineers because you have two different cars at the same time with the same tyres, you learn so much.

“Sometimes I think I would like to feel the same in a winter testing like I felt in 2004 in Imola when we were comparing with the previous year’s car.”

How Michael Schumacher dominated the 2004 Formula 1 season

Going into 2004, Schumacher had already won six titles and was on an unbeaten streak since 2000.

Schumacher was taken right down to the wire by Kimi Raikkonen the year before and only clinched the title at the season finale in Japan.

READ MORE: Eddie Jordan on who would win a race between Max Verstappen, Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna

The following year was a completely different story as Stella witnessed Schumacher demonstrate his greatness in an unbeatable Ferrari.

The German won 12 of the first 13 races of the season and was only denied winning every single race in that streak after crashing into Juan Pablo Montoya in the tunnel at Monaco.

McLaren haven’t managed to win back-to-back races this season although Norris will hope to achieve that feat at the Italian Grand Prix.

David Coulthard makes Michael Schumacher comparison to Lando Norris

Although neither McLaren driver has a world championship to their name just yet, they’ve both shown tendencies comparison to some of the sport’s greatest drivers.

Damon Hill has suggested that Piastri reminds him of Jackie Stewart such is his exceptional potential.

After his win in Zandvoort, David Coulthard suggested Norris did something Schumacher and Ayrton Senna would have been proud of.

While those comparisons are nice, they’re not something that McLaren can put in the trophy cabinet.

They have nine more chances to stand on the top step of the podium this year and Stella will be hoping they can take every single one of those opportunities.