While McLaren may have been left ruing opportunities it has had to deliver more Formula 1 wins recently, it equally is not blind to how far it has come.
From having started F1’s current ground effect era on the backfoot, and even struggling at the start of last year, its march to the front of the field to emerge as Red Bull’s most consistent challenger has been impressive.
Multiple factors have been at play to help it all happen. An injection of new leadership, a revamp of its technical structure, plus a cohesive development plan allied to having two super-strong drivers have all contributed to the Woking-based outfit’s return to the sharp end of the grid.
But for CEO Zak Brown, the single biggest element was the appointment of its new team principal at the start of last year.
Asked recently about what the secret to McLaren’s return to form was, Brown said: “The one-word answer would be ‘Andrea Stella.’ Obviously, it’s a team effort, but he’s the one who’s led and driven the change.
“Andrea is the best racer I’ve ever been around. So, while it’s now my eighth season, but I’ve been around racing forever, Andrea has done an amazing job of focusing the team, driving leadership.
“Obviously he’s not designing the car, so I wouldn’t want to not give credit to the other thousand people around him. But his leadership, that’s been the single biggest change that’s taken us from where we were at the start of ’23 to where we are now.
“Pete Prodromou, Rob Marshall, Neil Houldey, all these guys are doing an outstanding job, but under Andrea’s leadership.”
Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 3rd position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate after the race
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
But while few would argue with Brown about how important a contribution Stella has made, the man himself actually sees things differently.
Rather than seeking sole credit for what McLaren has now become, he instead says the true answer for what has changed is more about simply getting the best out of what it had already.
Speaking in an interview with Motorsport.com’s sister site Motorsport-Total.com, Stella said: “The reason why 12 months ago we could deliver a quite a bit faster car than before in Austria is the people that work at McLaren. The 1000 people who work at McLaren could do that.
“My main contribution, and the contribution of this…
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