McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is determined to prevent the emergence of a single dominant voice within his team. According to the Italian, the success of the papayas – who have the most dominant car on the grid this season – is all about collaboration and shared responsibility. The collective decides, and with success.
“The first step was to map out the team and determine what was and was not World Championship material,” Stella told Autosport.com about the foundation of McLaren’s success. “In addition, we had to identify who the key leaders are within their own field. Finally, we had to build trust in a model based on collaboration.” Under Stella’s leadership, McLaren underwent a major restructuring. The traditional role of technical director was divided into three pillars: Neil Houldey became chief engineer, Peter Prodromou head of aerodynamics, and Mark Temple took charge of the performance division. Later, Rob Marshall – former Red Bull engineer – was added to the team.
“I remember when we announced that we were going from one to three technical directors, there were so many questions about who would make the decisions,” Stella said. “For me, that has never been a problem. I am so collaborative that autocrats simply have no place at the table. Decisions must be made by a critical mass, not by one dictator who makes the final call. Zak (Brown, CEO) has always believed in this. Even with the arrival of Rob Marshall, this dynamic has not changed.”
‘A Title for the Collective’
The McLaren team boss emphasized that the success of this model hinges on behavior and culture. “The cultural foundation and behavioral characteristics must never deteriorate, otherwise this model will suffer,” he explained. “It requires a lot of involvement and insight into what is happening within the company to be able to work in this way. As a result, it is the human interactions that give meaning to what we achieve as a team.”
Over the past two years, McLaren has achieved significant successes. In 2024, under Stella’s leadership, the team won its first constructor’s title in over twenty years. This season, the ‘papayas’ are on track for both the team championship and the driver’s title. “Contributing to McLaren’s championship has absolutely been a highlight,” Stella concluded proudly. “Not only because of this team’s legacy, but also because of the thousands of people who made this possible. I have experienced many championships, but this one was special – everyone was so delighted because we truly achieved this as a collective. Everyone contributed their part, and that is incredibly satisfying.”
