New McLaren TP Exposes Lessons Taken From Ferrari Playbook Ahead of All-Important First Year

In a crazy domino effect, that we saw recently, several F1 team bosses jumped ships. Among those was McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, who took over the role of CEO at Sauber. Now, his successor, Andrea Stella, ahead of his debut season as the TP, has reflected on the values he learned from the likes of Jean Todt and Stefano Domenicali during his Ferrari days.

With vast experience under his belt, McLaren’s new team principal Andrea Stella’s knowledge is surely something the rivals should worry about. Joining McLaren in 2015, Stella took over the role of Head of Race Operations. In 2018, they promoted him to Performance Director, and in 2019, Racing Director. While he has spent a good 9 years with the Woking-based team, he tasted success at the very top with Ferrari.

Andrea Stella heaps praise on former Ferrari bosses

Stella rose through the ranks during his 15-year stint with Ferrari. He worked with the likes of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso as their Performance and Race Engineer. Working under legendary team principals like Jean Todt and Stefano Domenicali, he learned many valuable lessons. He revealed them in his latest interview with McLaren.

He told, “First of all Jean Todt, his incredible dedication to the team and to his role is something that gave me a bit of an imprint of what it means to be committed, overall kind of early imprinting of my career in F1, having a privilege to work in such a successful environment in the Ferrari of 2000s.” [Translated using Google]

“Stefano is definitely a people person, and Formula 1 is about engineering operations, but is ultimately very much about people. From Stefano I understood elements and qualities that you need to take, highly regarded as a team principal, and also his way of interacting with people based on respect, listening, and just think managing your ego, somehow.”

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Andrea has taken over the McLaren job during a time when the team is going through a rough patch. In a dominant show of strength, McLaren secured the 3rd position in the constructors’ standings in 2020. However, in 2022, the team failed to adapt to the latest regulations and could only manage a 5th position in the standings.

McLaren CEO tells why they chose Stella as McLaren team principal

Zak Brown is passionate when it comes to motor racing. He is not afraid to take bold steps and venture into unchartered territories. While his gamble on Daniel Ricciardo arguably did not pay off, he will certainly hope the one on Andrea Stella will.

Talking about Stella’s appointment, Zak Brown said, “I’m delighted that Andrea Stella will step into the Team Principal role and lead our F1 technical and operational program.”

“Andrea is a highly talented, experienced, and respected member of our team with a strong track record of leadership and success in Formula 1.”

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With the 2023 season approaching, McLaren will look to overturn their fate. Stella’s partnership with Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri will be something to look forward to.