Lando Norris, from the McLaren Formula 1 team, in 2nd place, holding his trophy, with Oscar Piastri, from the McLaren Formula 1 team, and Andrea Stella, Director of the McLaren Formula 1 team.
The Italian Formula 1 engineer joined McLaren in 2015, after Fernando Alonso’s move from Ferrari, where he served as the Spaniard’s race engineer. Stella’s initial role at the Woking team was as Chief Race Operations Engineer. Later, in 2018, he took on the role of Performance Director and, in 2019, was promoted to Racing Director. Before the 2023 F1 season, Stella replaced Andreas Seidl as Team Principal.
However, McLaren CEO Zac Brown revealed that Stella’s promotion in 2018 should have been to the Team Principal position. Stella, however, declined the promotion, feeling it was premature. Brown shared in an interview on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast: “He [Stella] didn’t want to be promoted, but then he got a bigger job. Even when we promoted him this time, when I called him, it wasn’t an immediate yes. It was: ‘let me reflect.’ He reflects, he’s very thoughtful.”
Brown further explained: “Even then, it was like: ‘well, tell me more and what do you think? When do you think I would be good at this?’ He looks at himself in the mirror to see – ‘what do you think are my strengths and weaknesses?’ He felt he wasn’t ready in 2018. I thought he probably was. But certainly he has proven himself ready now.”
The decision to promote Stella has proven to be wise, as McLaren has experienced significant progress under his leadership. This was exemplified by Lando Norris’ victory at the Miami GP. Brown praised Stella’s work ethic, emphasizing his thoughtfulness, communication skills, and transparency. He described Stella as a team player who is only interested in performance.
Secondo Brown, lo scopo di Stella è esclusivamente sulle corse, e rimane calmo di fronte alle distrazioni che altri capi squadra potrebbero affrontare. La dedizione di Stella è evidente nel suo coinvolgimento attivo in tutte le riunioni di analisi, il che contribuisce alle prestazioni e al focus. Brown ha descritto Stella come un leader eccezionale e ha elogiato tutto il team di leadership per il loro lavoro esemplare nei rispettivi dipartimenti, tutti impegnati a rendere la McLaren una squadra “materiale da Campionato del Mondo”.
