Andrea Stella claims McLaren needed to turn around ’15 years of underinvestment’ to get back to winning ways in F1

Andrea Stella admits over a decade of underinvestment impacted McLaren's ability to fight at the front of the grid.

Andrea Stella claims McLaren needed to turn around ’15 years of underinvestment’ to get back to winning ways in F1

Andrea Stella (Via: Imago)

Andrea Stella recently highlighted Mclaren’s growth strategy highlighting the importance of empowering engineers to be creative. McLaren had made a strong technical comeback in 2023 and the team is now consistently competing for victories. Recently, Stella expressed his opinion on the simulators and wind tunnel they invested in.

Andrea Stella stated that McLaren has made significant upgrades by investing in several key areas. He mentioned they have a new simulator for car development, a new facility for composite materials, and better manufacturing tools for those materials. Additionally, they’ve invested in the machine shop to enhance production processes. Stella reckoned these investments are part of a larger effort to strengthen the team’s technical capabilities and improve performance on the track.

We have a new simulator, a new composites facility, a new composites manufacturing facility. We have invested, for example, in the machine shop. It’s quite a large set of investments.
Andrea Stella said, as reported by motorsport.com
YouTube video

Stella explained that this was an important first step to address the issue that had built up over 15 years of not investing enough at McLaren. The Italian engineer believed, by making such necessary changes they are beginning to improve the technologies and facilities that impact the teams performance. This investment is crucial for the Woking-based team to keep progressing and competing more effectively in future.

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This was almost a first step to fill the gaps that have accumulated over 15 years of underinvestment at McLaren.
Andrea Stella added

Andrea Stella claims McLaren remaining ‘humble’ while still recovering in F1

Andrea Stella noted that McLaren still has a lot of work to do to be competitive with the top teams that have consistently invested in their development year after year. The 53-year-old mentioned, these teams have been improving for the past 15 years, while McLaren has not made similar investments during that time. This gap has made it difficult for McLaren to catch up, and the team needs to continue focusing on improvements to become more competitive in the future.

There are many things that still need to be done at McLaren to be competitive with some of the top teams that have invested consistently and regularly, year after year. These teams have done it for 15 years, while we have done nothing.
Andrea Stella stated
Zak Brown and Lando Norris
Zak Brown and Lando Norris (Credits: Planet F1)

Stella emphasized that there is still much work ahead for McLaren. This is why the team is doubting their progress. Although they are performing better now, they remain realistic because they are still recovering from past challenges. Stella understands that improvement takes time and consistent effort is necessary to strengthen their foundation for the future. So, staying focused and avoiding overconfidence is crucial for their ongoing development.

So, there is still a lot to do. And that is also why we are cautious. We are doing well now, but we are very realistic and humble because we are still recovering as a team.
Andrea Stella added

Certainly, Andrea Stella highlighted McLaren’s recent progress through key investments, but emphasized the need for continued growth to catch up with top teams. Despite current success, the team remained cautious and focused on ongoing recovery and improvement. McLaren is leading at the second spot in both drivers and constructors championship, so there’s a lot to be done to beat the leaders.

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