McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believes it is well-placed to balance the crossover between regulation cycles courtesy of its newly arranged technical structure.
Following the side’s torrid start last term with an underdeveloped car, Stella ushered a reorganisation of McLaren’s ranks with ex-Technical Director James Key departing.
He exited in March with immediate effect, with McLaren announcing the acquisitions of David Sanchez (Car Concept & Performance) and Rob Marshall (Engineering & Design) from rivals Ferrari and Red Bull respectively.
The pair commenced work at Woking from the outset in 2024 alongside Peter Prodromou as part of a new three-pronged arrangement that reports directly to Stella.
McLaren is bidding to build on a remarkable campaign that took the team from struggling to score points to becoming Red Bull’s most consistent challenger beyond the summer.
And the Italian’s belief that McLaren can take the next step this season has been bolstered by Marshall and Sanchez relaying their support for the concept on its new MCL38.
Speaking about the involvement the two have delivered, Stella told Autosport: “Definitely what we can see is that they come with quite a lot of knowledge, no surprise.
“They’ve been part of great teams, great projects, and the good thing is that this knowledge, I think we see that it integrates with what we knew and with our know-how.
“So it’s not like, ‘Oh we should do things in this way, which is opposite to what you do.’
Instead, it’s ‘we can do things in this way, which adds a little bit to what you do.’ This was quite refreshing in a way.”
Prior to being poached by McLaren, Marshall had served as Red Bull’s former Chief Designer and worked alongside Adrian Newey as the Austrian outfit decimated the grid upon F1’s return to ground effect aero.
Likewise, Sanchez was previously Ferrari’s Head of Concept and played an instrumental role in shaping the Italian marque’s strong opening to the current regulations in 2022.
But aside from the technical expertise the duo bring, Stella has also highlighted the other necessary values they have brought.
“We also had the possibility to appreciate their personal approach, which I think has engaged people in fascinating technical conversations,” Stella added.
“We see the momentum, the energy, the ideas, the flow through the organisation.”
The onus on delivering a competitive car this season has become even more imperative as a vast amount of the 2024 creations will be carried over into next year amid the looming overhaul to the regulations in 2026.
However, Stella believes his reshuffled technical division now retains the fluidity to approach such challenges with the mindset of a team aiming to compete with F1’s best.
“We have a 2024 car, and we are already setting the basis for how we evolve the ‘24 into the ‘25,” Stella revealed. “And then there’s a 2026 project with completely new technical regulations.
“So there’s so much work that we need to go through, and it is very important to now have these high calibres leading their respective technical areas.
“This means that we have the capacity, the capability, and the competence to approach these three big projects with the horsepower required to compete at the top of Formula 1.”
