McLaren Formula 1 Team Principal Andrea Stella says he sees no reason to revolutionise the squad’s approach following the exit of Andreas Seidl.
Stella held the role of Executive Director, Racing, during Seidl’s time at the operation and has been promoted to the role of Team Principal following Seidl’s move to Sauber.
Under Seidl’s leadership, McLaren approved plans to upgrade its facilities – such as a new simulator and wind tunnel – while the race team structure was rejuvenated.
McLaren finished between third and fifth in the championship during Seidl’s time at the team and also picked up a win, in 2021.
On the next steps for McLaren, Stella said that “in terms of opportunities, I think where we definitely would like to make a step forward is delivering a quick car.
“Some of the reasons why we haven’t been able to do that so far, we know they are quite structural, and there’s really good actions and investments going on at McLaren, so we can overcome this limitations.
“You all may know we have important infrastructure coming in 2023, like the wind tunnel, the new simulator, so completing this business is certainly one of my priorities.
“At the same time we want to make some areas of the team stronger, we know it is fundamentally an aerodynamic game, so one of the areas we want to get stronger is on the aerodynamic side.
“I think we have incredible talent there, possibly we need to expand manpower in that area, and that’s one pf the projects that is ongoing.”
Stella suggested he will be able to lean on other members of McLaren’s leadership group as he steps into his new role.
“I think in terms of racing, we are happy with the progress we have made recently,” said Stella.
“So I think it’s important to maintain continuity there in terms of the way we go racing trackside, so I would certainly see my presence and my impact still being quite direct in relation to that.
“At the same time, here on the factory side we have senior leaders I will be able to rely on, and I think some of them will step up a little bit such that we can cover all the tasks required to run the business.
“At the same time – which is a challenge in modern Formula 1 – I do plan to be very present, very impactful factory-side, but how do we configure this? It will require some thoughts.”
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