The transfer market does not only concern the drivers in 2022… as a wave of replacements has taken place in the past few hours, linked to the dismissal of Mattia Binotto from Scuderia Ferrari, a few weeks ago.
McLaren has just announced that Andrea Stella, previously the director of race operations, will become the new team director, replacing Andreas Seidl (note the S). Seidl has left to replace Frédéric Vasseur at Alfa Romeo. Vasseur himself has left Alfa Romeo to take over as head of Scuderia Ferrari, replacing Mattia Binotto.
« I feel privileged to take on this team manager role as a new step in my career at McLaren. I am grateful to Zak [Brown] and the other decision-makers for the trust they put in me and to all my colleagues who have helped me in recent years in F1. We are realistic about the amount of work we still have to do to move up in the hierarchy, but I am excited to take part in this journey with such a talented and experienced team. » commented Stella in a statement.
Zak Brown, the executive director of McLaren since November 2016 and executive director of McLaren Racing since 2018, therefore has less seniority in the team than Andrea Stella, who arrived in 2015. The Italian engineer first worked for Ferrari in the 2000s, notably with Schumacher between 2002 and 2006, then with Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso until 2014 before joining McLaren in 2015.
Zak Brown did not hesitate to highlight Stella’s highly talented, experienced, and respected qualities and character, with a large number of successful Formula 1 races under her belt.
Andrea Stella, as the team director, will have a role as a technical and operational leader, similar to what he had already experienced at McLaren, but this time with decision-making authority.
