McLaren‘s turnaround in the 2023 Formula 1 season was perhaps the story of the year. The team that started the season struggling to get into the points ended up finishing best of the rest with a comfortable 22-point lead over Aston Martin. But how did they do it? Well, according to F1 experts and the McLaren CEO himself, the credit goes to the team principal Andrea Stella for his excellent leadership.

McLaren turned the tide with a massive upgrade in Austria for Lando Norris which he immediately capitalized on to finish 4th. The MCL60 looked like a rocket ship. And the Woking-based team never looked back once both drivers got the upgraded package underneath them, securing multiple podiums and Oscar Piastri bagging the Sprint victory in Qatar. And it was all thanks to the way Andrea Stella steered the McLaren ship.

David Croft praised Andrea Stella for having patience when things were difficult

Andrea Stella’s impact extended far beyond the on-track performance. McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Stella’s leadership, highlighting a positive cultural shift within the organization. Brown attributed the team’s success not only to the car suddenly getting fast but also to Stella’s strategic contributions to restructure the team.

Stella’s leadership, marked by exceptional communication and trust in his team, played a pivotal role in McLaren’s resurgence. Brown emphasized that Stella struck a balance, allowing team members to execute tasks in their own way while providing guidance when necessary. The result was not just a faster car but also a motivated team working towards a common goal.

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Lead commentator David Croft echoed the sentiment on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, praising Stella’s patient and strategic approach. “He is a brilliant example of how patience is a word that we should all use in our daily walk of life,” said Croft. “And certainly in our career because it went so badly for McLaren at the start of the season they were slower than a slow thing… But behind the scenes, they’d identified that this is what was going to happen and they were working to put it right and they didn’t just rush things to the track.”

“They brought upgrades when they were ready when the team understood the upgrades, when they knew how it was going to be. And they started in Austria with Lando and they had them on both cars at Silverstone and it was an instant impact to be fair,” he added.

Drawing Hollywood Parallels, Lando Norris Gives Emotional Tribute to “Great” Andrea Stella

While everybody praised Andrea Stella for the dramatic turnaround for the team, he remained modest and refused to take the credit all by himself.

Stella believes one man alone can’t be responsible for F1 success

Despite being a key figure in McLaren’s rise to the top, Stella remains modest about his role, emphasizing the collective effort. Stella credits collaboration with CEO Zak Brown and acknowledges the team’s support in executing their vision.

“It’s a group effort, even in leadership. An F1 team is too complex to think that somebody alone can turn a situation around,” Stella told Autosport earlier this year. Stella’s modesty extends to the significant decisions made during McLaren’s transformation. The departure of former technical director James Key and the introduction of a new technical structure were pivotal moves aimed at aligning McLaren’s systems with their evolving needs.

Stella clarified that the changes were not about individuals but rather a shift to a more distributed model within the technical organization. “We wanted to establish a different model… based on distributing the aerodynamic, car concept and performance, and the engineering and design function in three different areas,” Stella explained.

Despite his reluctance to bask in the limelight, Stella’s role in recognizing challenges, implementing structural changes, and promoting internal talent within the team cannot be overstated.

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Do you think McLaren will come out in 2024 and start challenging Red Bull from the get-go? Share your insights and predictions down below in the comments.