Andrea Stella has one of the richest legacies a racing engineer can ask for. The man entered the sport as a performance engineer to the mighty Michael Schumacher in his most glorious days. And now the TP of McLaren a lot seems to be riding on the man’s pedigree. Being the newest addition to the top management, perhaps Stella can do what Zak Brown has failed to deliver. Can things finally turn around for the golden boy, Lando Norris?

The bad spell which began for Woking Outfit around 2015 has continued even in 2023. McLaren has been having a woeful time despite the 60-year legacy. A reshuffle of the top management before the 2023 campaign overseen by Zak Brown may finally begin to reap rewards. The CEO, Brown, who believes Indycar has a bright future ahead, clearly has a lot on his plate but Stella has his focus set. And perhaps this quality of Stella can catapult the team back to their glory days and give the talented Lando Norris the car he deserves.

In F1 Nations Podcast, Rob Smedley said, “I think that Andrea has all of the attributes. He is a good leader. One thing you can say about him is he is very calm. That is definitely one thing that you can say about him. He has a good enough knowledge of technical aspects of a Formula 1 car. He is not afraid of change. He just has a good feel of Formula 1 and if he is going to be a good team principal you need a feel for it as well.”

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While Stella’s presence does seem promising, good days for McLaren still seem distant. Will this bad spell see Lando Norris bid adieu to the Papaya team?

Zak Brown believes “team player” Lando Norris cannot escape

Last year we saw how Alpine bought out Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri contract and that seems like the last resort to free a driver from the clutches of his legally bound situation. And people have been wondering if the same will happen with Norris, who has been contracted with McLaren till 2025. Can another team find a loophole in his existing contract and steal him from Woking? Zak Brown says no.

“He has zero exit clauses,” Brown told Sky Sports F1  ahead of Australian Grand Prix. He further added, “Ultimately, when his contract is next up if we are not performing and he doesn’t feel he can win races and can compete for the championship, then I think anybody, driver or team member for that matter [would be considering leaving], we are all here to win. He has got a contract with us and, most importantly, he is very happy here and he sees the progress that we are making, and he is a team player.”

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Do you think Lando Norris will stick with the Woking outfit long enough or will he jump ships to claim the glory?