Following the announcement prior to the Spanish Grand Prix that Rob Marshall would make the move from Red Bull to McLaren for 2024, Lando Norris and Andrea Stella of McLaren shared their positive outlook on the signing.
The news of McLaren signing Rob Marshall for 2024 onwards from Red Bull where he held the position of Chief Engineering Officer broke ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month. Marshall will take up his new role of Technical Director of Engineering and Design at McLaren from January 1st 2024.
“He’s been with some of the best minds within Formula 1…”
Following the news, McLaren driver Lando Norris shared his opinion on the move. Norris highlighted Marshall’s experience and expertise as well as the highly rated personnel he has worked with during his 17 year stint with Red Bull.
“Just knowledge, expertise,” said Norris, when asked what Marshall brings to the table. “He’s been at Red Bull for many, many years, he’s seen a lot of success with the team. He’s been with some of the best minds within Formula 1 and he’s definitely part of that group.
“So, brains and lap time I guess are the two big things. He’s a big person, a big signing for us as a team, so I think someone that a lot of people within McLaren will look up to, and respect and so on. It is also a good step for us as a team to keep this drive forward, continuing to add performance and expertise too.
“I think the technical structure is well-set now…”
Andrea Stella echoed the enthusiasm of Norris, noting that Marshall is also excited to join the team as they aim to return to the front of the grid. Stella believes the technical team at McLaren is in a good place with the signing of Marshall as well as the team’s recent reshuffling following the exit of James Key.
“So, Rob will join the team obviously with a unique level of experience, knowhow, in terms of engineering and design of Formula 1 cars. He has also been instrumental in creating such a strong technical department at Red Bull.
“So, at the moment, we are just very pleased and excited that Rob is keen to join our journey to take McLaren to the front of the grid. I think the technical structure is well-set now and quite strong, so I would take one day off.
“He also understood that he could be a fundamental player…”
Stella went on to discuss Marshall’s excitement in joining the team, as well as the mutual respect between him and Red Bull. Stella credited Marshall for his influence within Red Bull’s incredible technical team which has seen them win 5 constructors’ championships.
“Rob was very keen to join McLaren,” he said. “He understood perfectly our journey, our ambition. I think he also understood that he could be a fundamental player in trying to do something important, like taking McLaren to victory, so strong motivation from his side.
“He has also been instrumental in creating such a strong technical department at Red Bull, and he has a unique level of experience and know-how in terms of engineering and design of Formula 1 cars. At Red Bull, they know very well the role Rob played over time, and I think this invokes respect for people.
“From what I could judge from the outside, I saw this level of respect from Red Bull to Rob which was good to see.”
“You can’t blame him for wanting to go and do that.”
Christian Horner of Red Bull commented on the move, confirming Marshall’s contribution to the team. He noted however that Marshall had been moved to projects outside of Formula 1 and was keen to get back to Formula 1 with McLaren.
“He played a significant role within the team,” said Horner. “But over recent years he moved onto other projects and hasn’t been on the mainstream of Formula 1. After 17 years he had an offer, a significant offer, from McLaren.
“The offer that McLaren made is probably half their cap,” he joked. “So you can’t blame him for wanting to go and do that.
He went on to comment on the agreement made between Red Bull and Mclaren as Marshall was still under contract with the former. The respect Horner holds for Marshall is evident from his comments, and the Red Bull boss seems happy for him.
“While he still had a period of time left on his contract, he was keen to go back into F1, so we came to an agreement with him and negotiated a deal with Zak that worked for everybody. And so, we did a little thing for him at his last debrief. Usually when someone leaves a team we tell them to f**k off. With Rob it is a little bit different, he’s a good guy. He’s just going onto a new challenge.”
