McLaren entered 2024 as one of the few teams with a settled driver line-up for next season.

That was strengthened with a revised deal with Lando Norris in February, ahead of the season start.

Alongside him, Oscar Piastri is also locked in on a multi-year deal, having inked a new contract last September that will keep him at McLaren until at least the end of 2026.

In March, McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown put pen to paper on a new ‘long-term’ extension.

Now, the squad has secured the future of team principal Andrea Stella.

The highly-rated Italian has been credited with much of the team’s transformation over the past 18 months.

Stella took over the team principal role from Andreas Seidl at the end of 2022 and quickly restructured the technical department.

That led to improved performances midway through last year following a slow start, progress that has continued into 2024 with the squad now genuine contenders for the constructors’ championship.

“It’s a privilege to be part of the McLaren Formula 1 team, and I am honoured to continue in my role as team principal,” said Stella.

“We’ve made great strides forward in the past year and a half and we still have a lot more work to do to consistently fight at the front of the grid, which poses an exciting challenge.

“Success comes through the team working in synergy, and I am enjoying my role, which has allowed me to help unlock individual talent and empower people to work together towards our team’s objectives.

“My thanks go to Zak for his confidence in me as a leader, to my entire leadership team and all my colleagues in the team, for their continued collaboration and support.

“I am excited for what we can continue to achieve together.”

Brown added: “I am delighted to confirm we’ve extended Andrea’s contract as our F1 team principal for multiple years.

“His excellent leadership, expertise and the respect he holds within the team and Formula 1 means we could not have a better person in place to continue the pursuit of consistently fighting at the front of the grid.

“His impact on McLaren F1 in his role as team principal has been profound, not only through our results on track and the trajectory of the team but also in his development of our culture and mindset.

“With multi-year extensions already agreed with Lando, Oscar, and now Andrea, we can confidently continue on our quest to become world champions.

“We’re all looking forward to the years to come under Andrea’s leadership.”

Stella joined McLaren as head of race operations, becoming performance director before being promoted to executive director of racing in 2019.

Previously, he worked as performance engineer with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.

McLaren sits second in the constructors’ championship, 42 points back from Red Bull Racing, with wins for both Norris and Piastri already this season.