Andrea Stella

Andrea Stella (; born 22 February 1971) is an Italian engineer and motorsport executive. Since 2023, Stella has served as team principal of McLaren in Formula One, winning two World Constructors' Championship titles in and .

Born and raised in Orvieto, Stella graduated from Sapienza University of Rome with a degree in aerospace engineering and a doctorate in mechanical engineering. He began his career at Ferrari in as a performance engineer, later serving as the race engineer for Kimi Räikkönen in , as well as for Fernando Alonso from to , who finished runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers' Championship three times.

Stella moved to McLaren in as head of race operations, becoming the performance director by and the racing director in . In , he replaced Andreas Seidl as team principal; in his second season, he led the team to their first World Constructors' Championship in 26 years, which they successfully defended in with a joint-record six remaining Grands Prix. Under Stella, McLaren have achieved race wins, pole positions, fastest laps, and podium finishes across three seasons.

Early life and education Andrea Stella was born on 22 February 1971 in Orvieto, Umbria, Italy. In 1997, Stella graduated from Sapienza University of Rome with a degree in aerospace engineering. He completed a doctorate in mechanical engineering with an experimental study on fluid dynamics of flames in 2000.

McLaren (2015–present) Stella joined McLaren in 2015 as head of race operations, moving to Performance Director in 2018 and racing director in 2019. In the latter role, he formed a triumvirate with James Key as technical director and Piers Thynne as production director, all under team principal Andreas Seidl.

On 13 December 2022, it was announced that Stella would replace Seidl as team principal of McLaren, ahead of the 2023 season. In the 2024 season, Stella led the team to its first World Constructor's Championship win since 1998.

Personal life Stella is married to Michela Di Eugenio, with whom he has two children: Edoardo and Federico.