McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has extended his contract, the Formula One team confirmed on Thursday. 

Stella, who joined the British-based team in 2015 from Ferrari, has signed a multi-year deal with McLaren not revealing the length of the new terms. 

The 53-year-old has overseen McLaren's recent transformation, and are just 42 points behind Red Bull as they aim to claim a first Constructors' championship since 1988.

This season, drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have finished in the podium places for the last 10 races, including a first one-two since 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month. 

Both Norris and Piastri have also signed contract extensions, keeping them with the team until at least the end of the 2026 season, building solid foundations for the future.

"It's a privilege to be part of the McLaren F1 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."

Chief Executive Zak Brown added: "[Andrea's] 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."

Lando Norris insists he can take the championship fight to Max Verstappen after declaring the Dutchman’s Red Bull team as “beatable”.

McLaren emerged as the closest contender to Red Bull last year following an impressive mid-season turnaround with Norris scoring seven podiums.

The 24-year-old, gearing up for his sixth season on the Formula One grid, last month committed his future to McLaren by signing a contract extension which will keep him with the British team for at least the next three seasons.

Red Bull won all but one of the 22 rounds last season, with Verstappen cruising to his third world title in as many years.

But speaking at McLaren’s car launch on Wednesday, Norris said: “If you were to ask, ‘are Red Bull beatable?’ I am going to have to say ‘yes’.

“We have to believe that because we were very close at times last year and at certain times we did beat them.

“Can we beat them over a season? That is going to be a challenge and very difficult to do because of how well they performed, but I am optimistic.”

Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri, who impressed in his rookie campaign last season, were provided their first taste of this year’s machine at a Silverstone shakedown test on Wednesday.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella added: “At the start of the season my expectation of Red Bull is that they will enjoy an advantage.

“I say this because they didn’t develop the car very much last year and I would think it is reasonable to expect that they will have accumulated knowledge and development from last season and bring that to the 2024 car.

“If, and I say if, we continue the development rate from 2023 into 2024, then we can be in a strong position. But whether that is enough to challenge Red Bull and the other top teams who have made improvements, we will find out.”

F1’s sole pre-season test gets under way in Bahrain on February 21, ahead of the opening race, also in the Gulf kingdom, on March 2.