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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has moved to shut down speculation over Gianpiero Lambiase's long-term intentions at the team, insisting the former Red Bull race engineer's appointment as chief racing officer is purely about strengthening McLaren's senior leadership group.
Lambiase, who is expected to join the Woking-based outfit in 2028, will report directly to Stella in his new role. The announcement prompted Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies to suggest during the Miami Grand Prix weekend that Lambiase was arriving with an eye on eventually assuming the team principal position — a claim that has since fuelled considerable speculation about McLaren's future command structure.
Stella was unequivocal in his response. Speaking to media including RacingNews365, he framed the signing as part of a broader, deliberate effort to build the most formidable operation in Formula 1 — in both the present and the long term.
"What I said before is that McLaren, for us, it's important to employ the best talents in Formula 1," Stella said. "Zak and I want to build the strongest team, not only in the present, but I think we have some good references as to strong teams in the past."
Stella drew on his own history to underline the point, referencing his time at Ferrari in the early 2000s as a benchmark for the level of seniority, expertise, and leadership depth required to compete and win sustainably.
"I have been part of the Ferrari team in the early 2000s, and I know what level of seniority, expertise, leadership you need to be successful in the present and in the future," he continued. "And employing GP is part of this vision, which is a vision of creating additive leadership that can integrate with the present leadership and create a stronger and stronger team at McLaren."
Beyond the strategic framing, Stella was candid about the personal dimension of the appointment. He acknowledged that his current workload as team principal has stretched him considerably, and that bringing in a figure of Lambiase's calibre is as much about operational necessity as it is about long-term ambition.
"I am personally very stretched in my role as team principal, and I need a strong group of leaders working with me," Stella admitted. "The plan is very clear. Any other speculation leads us back to the silly season."
It is a notably direct statement from a team principal not typically given to sweeping dismissals — and one that underscores just how deliberate McLaren's thinking has been throughout this process. For a team that has spoken repeatedly about building championship-calibre infrastructure, adding a figure as respected as Lambiase to the senior ranks represents a significant step, regardless of title.
As Stella recently demonstrated in Canada, the weight of decision-making at the top of a leading F1 team is immense — and having elite leadership support around him will only become more critical as McLaren's ambitions scale upward. On the question of succession, at least for now, Stella is making clear there is nothing more to read into it.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.