McLaren boss Andrea Stella lavished praise on the team’s workforce after the squad ended its wait for a win through Lando Norris at Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix.
McLaren showed strong pace through the weekend and while Norris was aided by a well-timed Safety Car, he was able to pull clear of the pack following the restart.
Norris’ win was the first of his career while it ended McLaren’s wait for a victory, which had stretched back to Daniel Ricciardo’s success at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
The Briton’s maiden triumph marked the first under Stella’s tenure, with the Italian having replaced the Sauber-bound Andreas Seidl at the helm back in December 2022.
The win came 12 months after McLaren put in an abject display in Miami, with Norris racing to 17th position following a Q1 elimination, prior to the team propelling itself into contention mid-2023 with a raft of upgrades.
“It’s true, we had a plan, I could see in the ground that the development, especially in the aero department, was very promising,” said Stella.
“Like the department was starting to be on fire, we see that we were increasing aerodynamic efficiency in the wind tunnel, in the simulation.
“But first of all, we needed to see, once you put it on track, will the data correlate? And we knew that we were very far in terms of how much downforce and efficiency we needed to add to the car. There was a plan, there were some very promising and encouraging elements, but ultimately, there was a lot of belief.
“But the belief, I think, was well posed, because for me, as a leader of this group, I could see that the talent was large at McLaren. I think I repeated this many times.
“I was going around the business, talking to people, and I was thinking, wow, these guys, they know the job, they know the business, we just have to empower them. And then I was collaborating with leaders that got completely into this kind of mindset. There are no territorial disputes at McLaren.
“It’s all about collaborating, all about a collaborative approach to performance and give space to people. That’s what was happening 12 months ago. But in terms of will it work, it was more belief than a plan, if that makes sense.”
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