Engineering Safety: The Invisible Race Behind the Race
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Within minutes of the chequered flag being waved in Singapore on Sunday, the McLaren Formula 1 Team’s website was adorned with papaya-coloured digital confetti. A relatively simple touch to celebrate a historic result.
Constructors’ Champions 2025 read the understated caption. Below it, the list of the team’s impressive achievements had also been refreshed in real time, cementing its turnaround in fortunes in recent years.
Celebrations of the squad’s back-to-back titles were clear to see in the paddock – but the swift reactions online showed just how joined-up and interconnected this team is.
Team partners posted their congratulations across social media, sharing in the pride of the team’s tenth championship title, while figureheads Zak Brown and Andrea Stella were quick to praise the efforts of the entire team in their post-race interviews.
“Whether it’s the F1 drivers on track, mechanics in the garage, the team on the pit wall, or engineers in the MTC, we are united by bravery, ingenuity, and the thrill of the chase.”
Words are easy to write on a website, but often so much harder to uphold.
The turnaround in fortunes for McLaren, a team that languished rock bottom of F1’s pecking order a few seasons ago, can be attributed in no small part to its steadfast leadership.
The dynamic double act of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have created a culture of collective accountability where the team’s values are lived and breathed every day. From their open and honest assessment of performances, their handling of a delicate, some might say impossible, in-team drivers’ title fight, to their acknowledgement and celebration of each team member’s contribution, this is an example of how to lead from the top and unite.
It remains to be seen if there’s any fallout from the lap-one tussle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Those questions will continue to be asked well into the next race in Austin as the drivers’ title intensifies. ‘That wasn’t very team-like’, stated Piastri on lap one, yet post-race it felt like it was being dealt with in very typical McLaren fashion. ‘I’ll go and have a look at the replays,’ was his post-race analysis.
Papaya Rules, they call it. And this season, for the most part, they have done just that. How they manage two drivers vying for title glory in the final six races will be another fascinating lesson in leadership.
