McLaren F1 Team have announced that Executive Director of Racing Andrea Stella will be promoted to Team Principal with immediate affect following Andreas Seidl leaving the team and becoming the CEO of the Sauber Group.
Seidl’s time with the team comes to an end, and in his time as Team Principal, the team has seen eight podiums and a singular race win at the Italian Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris bringing home a 1-2 finish. Seidl wishes the team well for the future as he moves onto the Sauber Group.
“I joined McLaren in 2019 and have really enjoyed working with Zak [Brown] and the team,” said Seidl. “We have achieved some good results, and I will always have fond memories, with Monza being a personal and career highlight.
“The team is on a great trajectory, and I would like to thank everyone for their support, trust and commitment. Thanks to Zak and the shareholders for their understanding of my personal decision to move on to another challenge. I wish Andrea and the team all the best for the future.”
Stella becomes the new Team Principal and has a wealth of experience in Formula 1, having been a key member of the McLaren team since 2015. Stella began his career with a fifteen-year stint at Scuderia Ferrari, including as Performance Engineer for Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen (2002-2008) and then as Race Engineer for Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso (2009-2015). He is delighted to take the position and hopes he can deliver.
“I feel privileged to take on the Team Principal role as the next stage of being part of the McLaren F1 Team,” said Stella. “I am grateful to Zak and the Shareholders for their trust in me and to all my colleagues and those who have supported me throughout my F1 career.
“We are realistic about the amount of work ahead of us to move back up the grid, but I am excited and encouraged that I am in this journey together with a team full of talent, experience, racing spirit and dedication. I look forward to working closely with each of them, Lando and Oscar, to together achieving great success and enjoying the journey.”
McLaren Racing CEO, Zak Brown also had his say on the news speaking on the appointment of Stella as well as the departure of Seidl.
“I’m delighted that Andrea Stella will step into the Team Principal role and lead our F1 technical and operational programme. Andrea is a highly talented, experienced and respected member of our team with a strong track record of leadership and success in Formula 1. His move into this role is a great example of the strength in depth we have in our team, and I’m excited to be working more closely with him with a joint focus on moving up the grid and winning races.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Andreas. He has provided great leadership for the team and has played a significant part in our F1 performance recovery plan and ongoing journey to return to the front of the grid. I thank him for the transparency throughout the process which gave us time to plan accordingly.”
