The unassuming McLaren leader who is one of F1 2023’s true stars

OPINION: McLaren’s speedy transformation from a team in turmoil in Formula 1 pre-season testing to finishing on the podium at the British Grand Prix has been a remarkable feat overseen by its new leader. But, rather than overly celebrating the moment, he remains steadfast in regarding it as part of the process towards an even greater recovery.

When people say you should never mess with the quiet ones, it isn’t because they have things to hide. Instead, it’s the very fact that rather than being loud, they are listening, observing, planning and getting on with things without fanfare that makes them such formidable weapons. It’s something that certainly appears to be true for McLaren this season, as its softly spoken and unassuming new team principal Andrea Stella appears to have unleashed something truly sensational in a short period of time.

When Stella was promoted to the job over the winter in the wake of Andreas Seidl's departure, it was a fairly surprising appointment because the Italian did not seem to be someone that craved the spotlight. He was never especially eager to put himself in front of the media and certainly seemed to be a world away from the type of pantomime personalities that Netflix has helped create for many of his peers.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.