McLaren promotes Stella to racing director

McLaren has promoted Fernando Alonso‘s former race engineer Andrea Stella to racing director, to work beneath team principal Andreas Seidl.

Seidl joined the team last year and created a three-headed management team beneath him – Stella, who had been performance director, will now work alongside technical director James Key, who joined from Toro Rosso last year, and production director Piers Thynne. It is hoped the new structure will improve reporting lines and accountability within the team.

Seidl arrived at McLaren with significant pedigree, having overseen Porsche’s domination of the World Endurance Championship.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has tasked Seidl with returning it to the front of the pack and his first season with the team saw it finish as best of the rest in the midfield, fourth in the championship, two years on from its unceremonious split from Honda.

McLaren has not won a Formula One race since 2012 and has not had a driver on the podium since Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button finished second and third at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

This year will be the third season with Renault power but it will return to Mercedes power, which it used last time it won a championship, for the 2021 season.