Andrea Stella is emotional. On the short walk from the podium to the McLaren hospitality area, he receives dozens of hugs, handshakes, pats on the back, and compliments, each returned without exception. The return to success for McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship (after 26 years) has many contributors, but if a paddock poll were conducted to associate a face with the triumph of the papaya team, it would undoubtedly be Stella’s.
McLaren ended the season in style, sealing their return to championship glory with a flawless weekend, leaving no room for regrets. Lando Norris celebrated as he hadn’t since his first Formula 1 victory at the Miami Grand Prix.
At Zandvoort and Singapore, Lando Norris (who also won at those venues) managed only faint smiles, weighed down by the pressure of his duel with Verstappen, which at the time was wearing him down. With the drivers’ title race behind him, Norris returned to racing with calm confidence, and the difference was evident. At Yas Marina, he was impeccable in qualifying, at the start, and in managing the 57 laps of the race.
After the chaos at the start involving Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, the responsibility fell squarely on Norris, a pressure he managed perfectly, delivering a historic victory for the team. It was a redemption for Lando on the most important day for this McLaren era and his season, marked by ups and downs that tested him. A top-tier performance allowed Norris to shine as the protagonist of a historic day for the entire team. This time, Norris fully enjoyed his victory lap, embracing every member of the papaya-clad crew as a true leader should.
A world championship climb in just two years
To understand McLaren’s accomplishment, one must look back to October 2022. At Woking, the car development project for the following season was faltering. Despite defining the guidelines, all evolutions led to dead ends; no matter the efforts, wind tunnel results remained stagnant. It was during these challenging days that Stella and his team laid the groundwork for McLaren’s climb to a milestone absent for 26 years.
The bold decision to start from a clean slate ultimately led to the triumph at Yas Marina. There were months of struggle: in the first races of 2023, McLaren scored just 17 points compared to Red Bull’s 321. Then, from the Austrian Grand Prix, the turnaround began with the first significant upgrade to the MCL38 project. Concurrently, Zak Brown masterfully handled the Oscar Piastri operation, securing a driver who, despite ups and downs, contributed 292 points to the team—80% of Norris’s total.
Andrea Stella also deserves credit for impeccably managing his drivers. Once the car became a top contender, balancing the ambitions of two young, success-hungry drivers was no easy task. Some called for clear team orders, but such a policy would have been detrimental to the young relationships within the team.
McLaren had clear goals, with the Constructors’ Championship at the top of the list. This target was achieved without internal conflict, in a work environment perfectly optimized to climb the Constructors’ standings. In 2025, if the team begins the season with the same competitiveness displayed at Yas Marina, the battle between the two papaya drivers will be open—but that’s another story, with time to address it. For now, McLaren is savoring a well-deserved success that came after a challenging first half of the season. A victory built step by step, starting from the Miami Grand Prix, where the long chase against Red Bull began, paired with an impeccable defense against Ferrari. All of this culminated perfectly under the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi.
Leave a Reply