McLaren CEO Zak Brown was quick to pay credit to Team Principal Andrea Stella after the Woking outfit secured their first constructors’ title in 26 years.
Lando Norris’s victory in Abu Dhabi sealed the deal for McLaren, despite title rivals Ferrari scoring a double podium with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing second and third respectively.
With the constructors’ title in the bag – McLaren’s first since 1998 when they had a driver pairing of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard – the celebrations were understandably quick to get going before what promised to be a night-long party.
But before the celebrations got too raucous, Brown took a moment to tell Sky Sports F1 what he believes the keys to success were for the papaya squad, with a particularly special mention for Stella who has overseen a monumental turnaround after being installed as Team Principal ahead of the 2023 season.
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Brown admitted to nearly having a heart attack watching Norris try to win for the team in Abu Dhabi
“He’s just an unbelievable leader, he leads by example, he empowers people, he’s very technical and he pushes everyone to get the best out of them and that’s what you saw tonight,” Brown said. “Andrea Stella, he’s done such a good job of leading this team.”
The team work was very much in play in Abu Dhabi, with Norris making just the one pit stop on his way to victory.
With his team mate out of the picture following first lap contact with Max Verstappen, the pressure was on as Norris pulled into the pits, with even the smallest of mistakes possibly the difference between the world title going to Woking or to Maranello.
But Norris’ pit crew delivered the dream 2.0s pit stop, and the rest is history.
2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Norris crosses the line to take victory – and clinch the constructors’ title for McLaren
“That was the worst two hours of my life, by far,” Brown joked. “I mean, Lando drove brilliantly, unfortunate what happened to Oscar at the start, but the team was flawless. They executed the pit stop great and I think I was the only one who was ready to have a heart attack for two hours.
“That race, [Norris] carried us. To not make any mistakes, we were worried about Safety Cars, I was worried about everything. But he drove flawlessly.
“Next [we’ll] try and repeat the constructors’ and get the drivers’, I’ll let Oscar and Lando figure that one out.”
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Norris was clear on the radio on his in-lap that he is gunning for the drivers’ title next year, having finished runner up in 2024. And with four victories to his team mate’s two, along with several years’ worth of additional experience, he might find himself favourite heading into the final year of the current regulations.
“He’s going to give it all he’s got and given the momentum he’s on, it’s hard to bet against him,” finished Brown, as the fireworks went off at the end of a memorable night in Abu Dhabi.
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