Andrea Stella has been named as Autosport’s Person of the Year after the Italian masterminded McLaren’s route to the top off the Formula 1 constructors’ championship.
Stella, who joined McLaren as head of race operations in 2015, has previously held the titles of performance director and racing director.
He was made the team’s principal for the 2023 season, replacing Andreas Seidl, and is responsible for its dramatic turnaround in the second half of that season.
Stella took that momentum into last year where, under his leadership, the team built on its developments to win the constructors’ title for the first time in 26 years.
Between them, drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took a total of six victories and both drivers recorded their maiden race wins in F1.
“I am surprised and very thankful and grateful for this award,” said Stella.
“I am a lucky person; I am doing the job that I dreamt of as a kid and I do it with passion and try to do it better every day.
“I have been lucky surrounded by great people and if I receive this award it is because of the people around me at McLaren.
Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“So a big, big thank you to the people around me, my mates, and on this journey with McLaren going to win the world championship.
“Thank you to all, this award is for myself and all the people that have been with me for this incredible journey.”
Stella’s management style at McLaren has been mightily impressive, forging a togetherness and an enviable team culture.
Stella has been empowered by McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown, who in turn has hailed the Italian’s leadership as a key factor behind the team’s success.
Speaking after McLaren secured the title at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Stella said: “Celebrating a championship means that we’ve gone through a circle. I often mention to the team the fact that the first race in 2015 in Australia, [the gap] between our lap in Q1 and pole position was five seconds.
“We have gone all the way thanks to great resilience, thanks to great belief and I would like to thank in particular Zak, Paul Walsh [executive chairman of the McLaren Group], all our shareholders for their faith in the change that gradually they have implemented and that has put McLaren in a solid position.
“When you are solid from a management point of view, you are trusted. When you start to deliver on the investment, then you can compete at the top.
“The final bit of this circle came through the people; unlocking the people. I am not sure if it is something that [others] can appreciate what it means if you are not seeing such rapid progress of 1,000 people, but that is what has happened.
Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing,rea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate after securing the Constructors title
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“That’s what we’ve gone through at McLaren and hopefully this is not the end point but the starting point for the future.”
McLaren finished the season with 666 points, its drivers having secured six wins, 21 podiums, eight pole positions and set seven fastest laps.
To find out who our other Award winners are, go to autosport.com/awards
In this article
Ben Hunt
Autosport Awards
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Subscribe to news alerts
Read the full article here
