Former world champion Damon Hill attributes the recent success of British racing team McLaren to the decisive leadership of Andrea Stella. The Italian engineer, who was promoted to team principal in 2023, brings a wealth of experience and a calming presence to the team, which Hill believes is exactly what McLaren needs.
“Zak (Brown) made a very smart choice by promoting Andrea Stella to team principal,” Damon Hill told Sky Sports. “We are all now seeing the incredible qualities he possesses; Stella maintains calm within the team, but also knows how to motivate everyone. That’s exactly what McLaren needs; someone with experience, someone who knows what it’s like to fight at the top.”
“When I was driving for Williams, I also had plenty of experienced people around me,” Hill recalled. The Englishman became world champion with the Grove-based team in 1996. “Frank (Williams) and Patrick (Head, engineer) both knew what it meant to have to fight,” Hill explained. “That’s so important. Young engineers and mechanics can sometimes buckle under the pressure. Then you need someone like Lando Norris who can say: ‘Don’t worry, it will be fine.’ He is so good at that.”
A Luxury Problem
Under the leadership of the Italian, McLaren is leading the constructors’ championship for the first time since 2014. Among the drivers, Lando Norris still needs to make up fifty-nine points on Max Verstappen, provided he doesn’t get too much competition from teammate Oscar Piastri. “Of course, Andrea Stella is currently dealing with a luxury problem,” Damon Hill continued. “He has two brilliant drivers on his team, as has often been the case with McLaren. He manages them very well; they are both very mature for their age.”
Stella began his career at Ferrari, where he served as a performance engineer for Michael Schumacher for a long time. Later, he supported Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, among others. In 2015, he moved to McLaren, first as head of race operations and later as performance director. In 2023, he was appointed team boss.
