McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed that it has not been decided whether it will continue to take team photos in Formula 1 when it achieves a podium that is not a win.
The Woking-based squad has celebrated top-three results with a group picture since a mid-season revival in 2023 propelled it into consistent contention at the sharp end.
That applied even once the MCL38 became renowned as the benchmark package last term and victories became an expectation as McLaren pursued eventual title success.
But with Lando Norris asserting that it now has “no excuse” not to win a championship double, Stella was asked whether McLaren would continue that trend in this campaign.
The Italian admitted that it is a topic that will warrant a discussion prior to the upcoming campaign, taking into account the entire team’s sentiment on the matter.
“Celebrating success is definitely part of establishing our culture,” Stella told select media including Motorsport Week last week in Bahrain.
“A podium is an important result, so we will evaluate internally.
“We will try also to see the sentiment of the team because what we want to do as a team, it really needs to be genuinely representative of the sentiment of the team.
“But we have definitely, we are a people with feet on the ground and we want to keep acknowledging and keep celebrating success even if this is not necessarily a victory because
a podium in Formula 1 is still a very important result and something that if we were having this media conversation two years ago, it would look still like, ‘wow, it’s a massive achievement’.
“But I guess hopefully you will discover soon what we have decided to do!”
McLaren focused on repeating title success
McLaren’s status as reigning champions will see it be located in the first garage in the pit lane across this season, which was evident during pre-season testing last week.
But although he acknowledged that it was a proud moment for the group, Stella has stressed that McLaren’s attention is now on ensuring that it retains that privilege in 2025.
“In terms of being the first garage, I’m sure everyone in the team will have had, for a second, this kind of thought as you alluded to: ‘like, wow, we are the first garage’,” he said.
“I didn’t think that this would be one of the implications or the positive consequences of winning a championship.
“And I’m sure everyone in the team will have enjoyed this kind of realisation.
“But if I know my team well, I know that this will be the thought of a second, and the second after is like, ‘okay, good. Now it’s all to be gained again’.
“You know, like you start everyone from zero points and it’s where being professional, the being focused on the present, that counts.
“So let’s say that this was true for a second, but this second has gone already. We got used to that and now we are fully focused on the present and the future.”
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