New McLaren team principal confident they are headed in the right direction despite poor results
- Planet Sport writer
- 9 January 2023
Andrea Stella says there are many areas where McLaren is moving forward positively and can even count themselves among the top teams on the grid a slump in form in 2022.
With many expecting the team to compete closer to the top last season, McLaren were a big disappointment and eventually slid down to finish fifth in the Constructors' Championship.
To make matters worse, the team had its team principle Andreas Seidl poached by Sauber, where he is now CEO.
However, many of the legacy programs and impacts of Seidl's leadership can still be felt. For example, there are several infrastructure projects finshing this year that should help them become more competitive again such as the construction of a new wind tunnel.
Stella is also confident that the team is moving in the right direction even if the result on track haven't been what they or their fans have wanted or expected.
"There are some aspects where we can lean to the top," Stella said.
"I repeat the example of pit stops. We can do very quick stops. According to some metrics, we are now the second or third-best team on pit stops.
"To become the best, there's a good one year of work if we take that single part of going racing, for instance.
"There are some other aspects of going racing where we are quite competitive already.
"I mentioned the race strategy, for example. There are some other aspects in which we want to do a better job. Like there are some elements of the operations [in 2022] that we have had some opportunities.
"I would say there is work to do, but not necessarily too much. We are starting to get optimistic and encouraged that we are gradually moving towards the top in that respect."