CEO Brown: 'Changes needed to see McLaren win again'

With the departure of technical director James Key and the arrival of David Sanchez, McLaren is changing people in key positions in the team. The team is moving away from working with a single technical director. Instead, the team is moving forward with several new specialised positions, with people reporting directly to team boss Andrea Stella.

New team boss Andrea Stella has created the F1 Technical Executive Team. This consists of Peter Prodromou, who holds the role of technical director Aerodynamics. David Sanchez returns to McLaren as technical director of Car Concept and Performance, after ten years at Ferrari. Neil Houldey is promoted to the role of technical director of Engineering and Design. Giuseppe Pesce will become the new director Aerodynamics & Chief of Staff. In addition, Piers Thynne will become Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Formula 1 team.

Part of larger plans

The appointments are part of a larger restructuring, which will continue to take shape throughout 2023. Andrea Stella is the driving force behind this: "This new structure provides clarity and effectiveness within the team’s technical department and puts us in a strong position to maximise performance, including optimising the new infrastructure upgrades we have coming in 2023," Stella said on McLaren's website.

CEO Zak Brown sees the changes as an important part in the road (back) to the top. "It has been clear to me for some time that our technical development has not moved at a quick enough pace to match our ambition of returning to the front of the grid. (...) These strategic changes ensure the long-term success of the team and are necessary to see McLaren get back to winning ways."