New McLaren boss makes approach vow

Ewan Gale
Friday 23 December 2022 18:35

New McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted he will be a "hands-on" leader whilst in charge of the F1 team.

The Italian has taken over from Andreas Seidl, who made a shock switch to Sauber to become CEO after Fred Vasseur left for Ferrari as the silly-season merry-go-round was set in motion by Mattia Binotto's resignation.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown looked within the Woking-based outfit's ranks to find the successor, with former racing director Stella the preferred candidate.

Stella has enjoyed an extensive career on the technical side of F1 and he is adamant he will not shy away from getting involved in the engineering office.

"My style will be hands-on," Stella told media including GPFans.

"The opportunity we have is that I have been dealing with, and exposed to, the engineering and racing elements of F1 throughout my career.

"I will be close to the core objectives of the team, which ultimately is to build a quick car and race the car effectively while on track.

"There are really strong elements of integration and combinations between my characteristics and Zak's.

"So it is a very strong combination."