Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, and James Barclay on handling pressure at the highest level

To mark this year’s World Mental Health Day, we invited Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, and James Barclay to join us on a walk around the McLaren Technology Centre grounds for a conversation about how they manage their own mental health while supporting the well-being of their teams.

For 2026, we have selected the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) as our official Charity Partner, and the UK-based charity is supporting us on this year’s World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

On a warm afternoon in Woking, we walked the factory campus with the McLaren Racing CEO, the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team Principal, and the McLaren Hypercar Team Principal. Passing the lake and parkland, we reflected on the role that nature and sport play in supporting their mental health. We also discussed how attitudes towards mental health in motor racing have evolved during their time in the sport, and why they encourage their teams to speak up when they’re struggling.

Here’s what they had to say.

How do you build an environment that prioritises mental health, and one where people feel comfortable talking about it, in a high-performance industry that requires the team to push themselves to their limit?

Zak Brown: In a high-performance culture, you have to have a no blame culture. When you have an issue, you tackle the problem, not the people, because the problem will usually be down to a variety of reasons. This is a very stressful job, so it is important that everyone takes a break and recharges their batteries – we work very hard, but we play hard, and we have fun. Having conversations is an important part of finding balance in a high-performance working environment.

We put a lot of time and effort into our people, their health, their nutrition and their well-being, because we want people to be in the right frame of mind when they’re at work, and we recognise that this is a very stressful job. You have to create a safe environment where people feel comfortable taking time to recharge or having a conversation.

We have built a state-of-the-art human performance centre, and we have spent a lot of time on getting our diet and nutrition right. This helps to give people the best chance of building a strong mindset, but it also gives them an outlet if they are struggling, and reassures them that they’re in a working environment where that is okay.

Andrea Stella: To begin with, you have to be self-aware. This kind of competition naturally brings psychological challenges because you are constantly dealing with winning or losing, and with being happy or unhappy with your own performance. This can challenge your own identity, which is an important load that you constantly need to process and carry.

You have to be self-aware that this is inherent to the activity you are part of. You then have to pass that on to your team and make sure it's part of the way we go racing, rather than something we don't want to talk about. We talk about it because we need to process it, both for our own well-being and for performance itself.

You also have to make mental health a clear objective. As a Team Principal, you set objectives for the organisation. Some will be technical, performance, or other racing-related targets. Others will centre around human performance, and this includes your physical and mental well-being and health. At McLaren, we pay close attention to the latter: mental and psychological well-being.

James Barclay: Our sport has changed significantly, particularly over the past 10 or 15 years. It is incredibly demanding and has peak moments of stress, so we have to harness that in the best possible way. From my perspective, our best performances come from understanding the human mindset better than our competitors.

We need to operate with a team that has a diverse range of thinking. We are more advanced than ever in understanding neurodivergence, how people cope in different situations, and how different people respond to stress. Part of that means creating an environment without unnecessary stress, which avoids self-inflicted drama or pressure. Our sport already presents plenty of challenges, we do not need to add to them by making our working environment more complicated.

One of the ways in which you can do this is by having great relationships – what we sometimes refer to here, which I love, as a ‘culture of mates’. It is important to create an environment with psychological safety, where you can be open and honest. When considering how we can improve, you shouldn't fear your teammates' response. You have to be able to speak openly. But that transparency also requires resilience from one another.

That is what I think sets us apart – developing that open communication and resilience as a group, while also being cognisant that every individual is slightly different. Here at McLaren, culture plays such an important part, and those relationships – that culture of mates – make a huge difference. It creates resilience and an open way of working together and communicating, which helps you to solve problems and deal with challenges more effectively. Throughout my career, I have seen that mentality deliver success first-hand.

How do you protect your own mental health when you're absorbing the stress of an entire team, and what warning signs tell you that you need to prioritise your own well-being?

Zak Brown: I know that when I am overworked, I can become irritated. Sport is usually the answer for me. I am also fairly resilient - that doesn't mean I don't face day-to-day challenges, but you have to be resilient as a CEO, so I probably have a high threshold.

To support my mental health, I will prioritise spending time with family and playing sport. I prefer exercise outside to the gym, whether that is on a golf course, an ice rink, a baseball field or in a race car. It is about getting out and exercising.

Sport helps me during periods of burnout in several ways. Firstly, because you are getting physical exercise. Secondly, because you are focusing entirely on the sport you are playing, which means you are not thinking about whatever is bothering you. Sport is also usually something you do with other people, so there is healthy competition and camaraderie. It is a combination of all those things: you are not thinking about what is bothering you, you are with like-minded people, and you are channelling your focus into what you are doing at that moment.

Andrea Stella: For me, there are three fundamental ingredients to protecting my mental health. The first is awareness: understanding that the job comes with these kinds of challenges. That way, when you are in a tough moment, you can at least accept that you knew it would be, rather than being surprised. During these times, you then have to lean on the people who support you, because we should never think that we have to carry this alone. We do not want to be heroes – we simply want to be human beings. Awareness and leaning on those who can help us are the first elements.

The second element is connecting with nature, which is very important for your mental and physical well-being. We connect with the colours of nature and everything we perceive through our senses. Nature is incredibly beautiful, and I think that beauty – together with recognising that we are part of nature and that nature supports us – is fundamental to discovering the sentiments, feelings, and self-awareness that create psychological resilience. I would definitely encourage people to connect with nature as much as possible, especially when things become psychologically tough.

The third element, for me, is sport – in particular, tennis. I find it to be a very important release because it requires so much concentration that my mind gets occupied with something else, and I can enjoy playing. After a session, I feel better. I may be disappointed with the quality of my shots, but overall, I feel better in terms of my mental state and health.

James Barclay: That is a really good question. I would be lying if I said there was an easy way to reset every time – there is not. For me, it has come through experience. We are here to be successful and achieve, but that cannot come at the expense of your mental health, because you cannot do your job for your team if you are not in a good place.

When you have moments when you are feeling down or under immense pressure, for whatever reason, it is about putting things into context. We do an amazing job and love what we do. For me, that means finding a circuit breaker every now and then: spending time at home with family or friends, playing sport. Essentially, anything that gives me the chance to step back and recognise how fortunate I am to do the job I love and have always wanted to do, with people I genuinely enjoy working with, while being part of something amazing.

I think about living a fulfilled life. I am doing that because I know that, when I reach the point in my career when I am retired and sitting with friends looking back, it will be incredibly rewarding. Together with my teammates here, we are doing something incredibly fulfilling, and I think the measure of life is a life fulfilled. That is the opportunity we have together.