Brundle hails ‘yin and yang’ F1 leadership duo

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has praised the McLaren leadership duo of CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella, who he describes as “yin and yang”.

McLaren secured a first F1 constructors’ title since 1998 in the recently completed season, ending a miserable 26-year drought. 

Brown and Stella combined, have led the Woking-based team back to the top, having only recently been at the very bottom of the pecking order.

The team’s recovery even from the start of 2023 has been remarkable, with Brown and Stella’s different approaches having worked magnificently combined. 

“The McLaren leadership of CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andrea Stella has worked extremely well,” Brundle wrote for Sky Sports F1.

“Zak is the can-do, strongly commercially minded petrolhead and enthusiast, and Andrea is the calm pragmatic one with a longstanding technical background and is equally highly respected. Definitely yin and yang working in unison there.

“They both engender loyalty and a strong following and it has worked very well in galvanising a great workforce along with the right tools and equipment, all properly funded, into one cohesive force.”

McLaren’s ‘patient’ owners

McLaren finally found its solution to return to the top, in the form of Stella and Brown in charge, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri behind the wheel.

Finding this took time, with incredible support and patience having been required from the team’s majority owner, as pointed out by Brundle. 

Several difficult seasons were endured by the iconic brand, which saw it fall to ninth in the 2017 constructors’ standings. As recently as the beginning of last year, McLaren found itself at the very back. 

However, a remarkable development plan has directed the team to the top is rapid fashion, courtesy of Stella and Brown’s leadership style.

“The McLaren team needed that after a drought of 26 years, but an equally impressive Ferrari ran them close,” added Brundle.

“And McLaren’s owners and commercial partners, particularly the majority owner Bahrainis, have been extremely supportive and patient through some scarily lean times, and are now thankfully reaping rewards.

“They were ninth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2017, and plumb last as recently as early-season 2023.”