Brown reveals nickname for McLaren star after turnaround

Zak Brown, McLaren — Photo: © LAT Images

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Brown reveals nickname for McLaren star after turnaround

The team impressed in the latter part of 2023

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 9 December 2023 13:12

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has praised the performance of team principal Andrea Stella, after the Woking-based team saw an incredible turnaround in the second half of the 2023 season.

The team were sat on just 17 points from the opening eight races of the season, before going on to amass a further 285 from the next 14 races, claiming fourth place in the constructors' standings.

Star driver Lando Norris went on to claim seven podiums in that time and finish sixth in the drivers' championship, while his rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri was one of only two non-Red Bull drivers to claim a victory of any kind throughout 2023.

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Now, Brown has revealed that Stella, who was only appointed to the role at the end of 2022, was one of the main reasons for the phenomenal comeback, praising his character.

“I think the impressive thing is that it is the same people, but it's a different team,” Brown told McLaren's official website.

“It's a different team because of the leadership of Andrea. His work ethic, his communication skills, his demand for performance. He has a great ability to look at commentary from his team through their lens. These are all just great leadership qualities in running a Formula 1 team. He sets very clear direction, he has very high expectations, great follow-through, and a tremendous amount of empowerment.

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McLaren restructure

“When he restructured the technical structure, initially it was a bit, ‘How do you have three technical directors?’ And I think his view was that he's actually what we call a technical team principal.

"So, one could argue, ‘What does a technical director do?’ They facilitate bringing together all the great technical expertise to the set of directions, which he does.

“I kind of call him The Swan. He looks like he's a nice guy cruising above the water, but underneath, he's paddling fast. He's very tough, he's very professional, very articulate in his delivery. He's not political at all, he's got no ego at all. And I'm pleasantly surprised not just by what he's brought to the table, but how quickly it's had the impact that it's had because I think we all see that the turnaround has been pretty awesome.”

Red Bull McLaren Formula 1 Lando Norris Oscar Piastri Zak Brown