Formula One team principal Andrea Stella has received a multi-year contract extension from McLaren.
After joining McLaren in 2015, Stella held the positions of performance director and head of race operations until being elevated to executive director of racing in 2019.
“It’s a privilege to be part of the McLaren F1 team, and I am honored to continue in my role as team principal,” Stella said. “We’ve made great strides forward in the past year-and-a-half and we still have a lot more work to do to consistently fight at the front of the grid, which poses an exciting challenge.
“Success comes through the team working in synergy, and I am enjoying my role, which has allowed me to help unlock individual talent and empower people to work together towards our team’s objectives.”
Stella, 53, worked for Ferrari for 15 years as a performance engineer for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen before joining McLaren. Later on, he worked as Fernando Alonso’s and Raikkonen’s race engineer.
Stella oversaw a period of quick development at McLaren after taking over as team chief in 2022, which was capped by two Grand Prix victories, eighteen podium finishes, and a Sprint race triumph.
Stella’s extension will help the Woking-based squad, as they also gave multi-year contracts to drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris the year before.
“His excellent leadership, expertise and the respect he holds within the team and F1 means we could not have a better person in place to continue the pursuit of consistently fighting at the front of the grid,” said chief executive of McLaren Racing Zak Brown.
“His impact on McLaren F1 in his role as team principal has been profound, not only through our results on track and the trajectory of the team but also in his development of our culture and mindset.
“With multi-year extensions already agreed with Lando, Oscar, and now Andrea, we can confidently continue on our quest to become world champions. We’re all looking forward to the years to come under Andrea’s leadership.”
With ten straight podium finishes under their belt, McLaren is currently only 42 points behind Red Bull, the leaders of the championship, in the constructor standings.
(Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
