McLaren CEO Opens Up On Former Team Principal Exit - 'Could Have Kept Him'

McLaren CEO Zak Brown reflects on Andreas Seidl's exit.

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 CEO Zak Brown walks through the track entrance before the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

McLaren CEO Zak Brown shared insights about the leadership changes within the team, particularly the departure of Andreas Seidl and the subsequent appointment of Andrea Stella as the new team principal.

Under Seidl, McLaren enjoyed an impressive resurgence, exemplified by a successful 1-2 finish at Monza in 2021 thanks to drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. However, the team faced challenges in the subsequent season, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship in 2022, prompting Brown to reconsider the leadership structure.

During an interview with Auto Motor Und Sport, Brown commented:

“The most important one [change] was handing over the team management to Andrea Stella.

“The process started back in 2019 but was disrupted. My first team principal Eric Boullier never got a fair chance. He came at a time of great unrest.

“He had done a good job at Lotus, but with us, he was in the eye of a hurricane. His successor, Jost Capito, was not the right man for the job. He was actually already gone before he started.

“In 2019, we had Gil de Ferran, Pat Fry, Peter Prodromou, Neil Houldey, and Andrea Stella in our management team. This team was responsible for our success in 2021. They built the 2020 car, which was adopted as the basis for 2021 due to Covid restrictions.

“The only new thing was that we replaced the Renault engine with one from Mercedes. Andreas Seidl and James Key joined us in 2020 and initially took over the 2021 project as it had already been designed by our 2019 squad.

“In 2022, we moved backward again and that was the work of the new people. When the upgrade didn’t work at the French GP in the middle of the season and I didn’t like the response from the management team, I realised that we had to pull the plug.

“That’s why I wanted to go back to my squad from 2019. Andreas then got the chance with Audi. I could have kept him, but I wanted a change in the team.”

The appointment of Stella was part of an effort to return to a management style similar to that of 2019, which had proven effective. Brown added:

“In contrast to 2019, Andrea Stella now felt ready to take on the position of Team Principal,” he said.

“We talked about his new role for a week. Then he felt comfortable with it. He is very honest with himself and not one to ride an ego trip.

“His first job at the beginning of 2023 was to reorganise the management level. He managed to get the maximum potential out of everyone. He told me right from the start that we would have a terrible start to the 2023 season. And that’s how it was. And then you told me about this incredible development curve of the car. It was almost too good to be true. But they kept their word.”

McLaren's success under Stella's guidance didn't rely solely on technological advancements but also on the partnership between him and Brown.

“You can’t compare today’s team bosses with those of the past.

“The teams have become far too big for Ron Dennis to control everything. If you want to do it right, you have to have a team principal and a managing director. Andrea only looks after the team, I look after the rest.

“I have the feeling that I work for the team and not the other way round. My job is to support him. With the financial resources, with the political issues.

“If Andrea was distracted by media work, marketing, contacts with shareholders or sponsors, he wouldn’t be able to do the job he does.

“With him, I knew what I was getting myself into. Our personalities fit well together and we complement each other in our work. The same applies to the other directors. If you want to be successful, you have to have a culture in which people trust each other.”