McLaren signs multi-year extension for team boss Stella

©McLaren

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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has signed a multi-year extension to remain in the role for the foreseeable future, the team announced on Thursday.

Stella took up the role at the end of 2022 after his predecessor Andreas Seidl departed to take up a leading role at Audi. He had originally joined the team in 2019 and worked as Head of Race Operations and Performance Director.

“It’s a privilege to be part of the McLaren Formula 1 Team, and I am honoured to continue in my role as team principal," Stella said in a press release issued by the team.

Under Stella's leadership, the team achieved a big resurgence in 2023 and has continued to build on that momentum this season with race wins for both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri putting the team into P2 in the constructors standings.

"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," acknowledged Stella.

Read also: McLaren to work with Norris to resolve opening lap struggles

"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.

“My thanks go to Zak [Brown] for his confidence in me as a leader, to my entire leadership team and all my colleagues in the team, for their continued collaboration and support," he continued.

The team has already confirmed multi-year extensions for both Norris and Piastri meaning that today's news about Stella gives them a welcome sense of long-term stability of the team.

"I am excited for what we can continue to achieve together," Stella said.

McLaren CEO Zac Brown was said he was delighted to be able to confirm the news that Stella would be remaining with the team and praised his "excellent leadership, expertise and the respect he holds within the team.

Brown continued: "We could not have a better person in place to continue the pursuit of consistently fighting at the front of the grid.

“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.

"We’re all looking forward to the years to come under Andrea’s leadership," he added. “With multi-year extensions already agreed with Lando, Oscar, and now Andrea, we can confidently continue on our quest to become world champions."

McLaren is currently enjoying its most successful season of the last decade. As well as two wins this season there have been a further 18 podiums since the start of 2023.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.