McLaren’s new F1 team principal Andrea Stella says there is no reason to revolutionize the team’s approach after the departure of Andreas Seidl.
Andrea Stella took on the role of executive director of the racing division while Andreas Seidl was in charge of operations and was promoted to team principal after Seidl’s move to Sauber.
Under the leadership of Andreas Seidl, McLaren approved plans to upgrade facilities, including a new simulator and wind tunnel, and the race team structure was revitalized.
McLaren finished between 3rd and 5th in the championship while Andreas Seidl was with the team, with a win in 2021.
Commenting on McLaren’s next steps, Andrea Stella said: “What we definitely want to move forward in terms of opportunities is to offer a fast car.”
“I know some of the reasons why we haven’t been able to do that so far, they’ve been very structural, and there’s really good action and investment going on at McLaren, so we’re going to put this restriction in place. I should be able to overcome it.”
“You may know that we have important infrastructure coming in 2023, such as wind tunnels and new simulators, but getting this job done is definitely one of my priorities.”
“At the same time, we want to strengthen some areas of the team. We know it’s basically an aero game, so one area we want to strengthen is the aero side.”
“I think there’s an incredible amount of talent out there. Perhaps we need to expand our headcount in that area, and that’s one of our ongoing projects.”
Andrea Stella has suggested he can rely on other members of McLaren’s leadership group to take on his new role.
“In terms of racing, I think we are happy with our recent progress,” said Stella.
“So I think it’s important to maintain continuity in terms of racing trackside and certainly my presence and influence in that regard is still very direct.”
“At the same time, here at the factory side, we have senior leaders that we trust and I think some of them will step up a bit so that they can cover all the tasks required to run the job.”
“At the same time, this is a challenge in modern F1, I plan for the factory side to be very present and very influential. But how do we structure this? Should I? I’m going to need some ideas.”
