Zak Brown has hailed McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella as the squad’s “secret weapon” amid their recent success, with the CEO also naming Stella as the “best in F1” when it comes to his role.
After first joining the papaya outfit back in 2015 as Head of Race Operations, Stella went on to act as Performance Director and Executive Director, Racing before his promotion to Team Principal in December 2022.
McLaren have enjoyed a rapid trajectory in the time since; in 2023, the team went from being at the back of the field during the season opener in Bahrain to scoring podiums by the end of the campaign, while 2024 saw them progress even further to clinch their first Teams’ Championship in 26 years.
The Woking-based squad have kicked off 2025 in similarly strong form, taking back-to-back victories in Australia and China courtesy of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri respectively, with the second of those seeing the team claim a 1-2 finish.
Stella took over as Team Principal at McLaren in December 2022
Reflecting on the race in Shanghai during an interview with Sky Sports F1, Brown – with Stella at his side – suggested that the Team Principal had played a particularly crucial role in McLaren’s recent success.
“It definitely wasn’t [straightforward],” Brown said of team’s 1-2 result. “What it might look like on paper… the team did a great job with strategy, once again I think we’ve shown we’ve got the best driver line-up, and then our real secret weapon is to my left, the best Team Principal in F1.
“You put those combos together, and all the great work that the men and women have done at McLaren, back at the MTC [McLaren Technology Centre] and here at the racetracks – we’re getting great results. But as you can see, it’s pretty close, so we’ve got to keep focusing.”
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Piastri’s victory in China comes after the Australian signed a new multi-year contract extension earlier in March and, when asked about how important that move was in terms of keeping stability within McLaren, Brown responded: “It’s incredible for the whole team, right?
“If you look at our pit wall, our technical leadership, Andrea, our drivers, it’s all about stability, visibility, teamwork and camaraderie.
“The drivers get along great and have done such an outstanding job; they came back from the winter so focused on themselves, on the team, technically understanding what we’ve done with the car. They’re just both at the top of their game and it’s great to see how great they’re both doing.”
McLaren have enjoyed a strong start to the 2025 season, with the squad claiming a 1-2 result in China
Looking ahead to the next race on the calendar – the Japanese Grand Prix, which takes place on April 4-6 – Brown is hopeful that the team can continue their strong run but cautioned of the challenge posed by their rivals.
“I would imagine we’ll do pretty well,” said Brown. “I think the top-four teams, there’s nothing in it. Lewis [Hamilton] drove brilliantly in the Sprint [in Shanghai], we saw how fast he was, he pulled away.
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“I think we’ve got to go into every weekend knowing that there’s four teams that can win – it’s great that we’re one of them. We’re historically good in Japan. It’s a great circuit.
“F1, I think what we have predicted is this is going to be an epic season, and I think that’s what we’re starting to see.”
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