McLaren consulted drivers on F1 management changes

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown consulted the team’s Formula 1 drivers, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, on planned changes to its management ahead of the shake-up announced on Wednesday.

McLaren confirmed yesterday that racing director Eric Boullier had resigned from his position after four years in the role, with a new management structure being announced ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Simon Roberts will oversee the technical team in his role as McLaren Racing chief operating officer, while Andrea Stella has been promoted to performance director. Team advisor Gil de Ferran has now been appointed to the position of sporting director.

Both Stella and de Ferran have prior links to Alonso, who McLaren is working hard to try and retain in some role for 2019. Stella was Alonso’s race engineer during his time at Ferrari, while de Ferran played a crucial role in his Indianapolis 500 debut last year.

Brown confirmed on Thursday at Silverstone that he had spoken with all of the team’s drivers about the management restructure, including Alonso’s teammate, Stoffel Vandoorne.

Brown placed a focus on Alonso’s experience in F1, saying it was important to take his views into account when making decisions about the future of the team.

“I’ve spoken with all the drivers,” Brown said. “Fernando obviously has an immense amount of experience. He’s driven for us twice, he’s driven for Ferrari, Renault, Benetton, and he is someone I believe has a racer instinct.

“That’s important in a fast-paced, racing environment and he has been the at the centre of some great racing teams, so I think it would be a mistake to not tap into his experience and knowledge and how he has seen different teams operate. So I’ve done that.

“I’ve done that with Stoffel as well but he obviously doesn’t have the same experience to draw on as he has only raced for us. I think he is a great asset to the team and you guys have seen how great he is on the track, but what you probably don’t see so much that we do is how great he is off the track.”

Alonso is known to be considering his future in F1 amid growing disillusionment with the sport, with a switch to IndyCar thought to be an alternative for 2019.

Brown said that McLaren had not ruled out an IndyCar programme for next season despite it being “laser focused” on F1, and said that while Alonso has options, the team is not prioritising his future right now.

“I think anything’s possible as far as what Fernando could drive next year,” Brown said.

“Right now, we’re very focused on being in the moment. He definitely wants to win the triple crown. We’d like to do that with him.

“I’d say anything is possible for next year, but given where everything is right now, we’re not quite shifted towards who’s driving what for next year.”