Stella: “Lambiase in McLaren shows how attractive we are. For me it will be a fundamental support”

The Lambiase coup Anyone who imagined Gianpiero Lambiase in McLaren in place of Andrea Stella had to think again. The market rumors that emerged in the hours immediately following the announcement of the hiring of Max Verstappen’s current race engineer by the world champion Constructors’ team were immediately silenced. As Stella himself recently confirmed, Lambiase will work with him and certainly not in his place, thus forming a tandem in command of the operations of the papaya wall. In an interview given to the official McLaren website, Stella explained in detail the reasons that pushed him and CEO Zak Brown to plan and then implement the hiring of Lambiase, thus outlining already two years in advance what will be the operational structure of the British team starting from the 2028 season: “The arrival of Gianpiero is the icing on a cake that already has all the right ingredients – commented Stella – for me he will be a fundamental support, covering the role of Chief Racing Officer, a position I currently hold alongside my role as Team Principal. Together with Zak, over the last three years we have always worked to ensure long-term continuity in terms of leadership and skills. This is especially true for some key roles, such as positions in the race team. It is above all in this area that the expansion of the calendar has had significant consequences in terms of personal commitment and quality of life.” Demonstration of strength “Today’s Formula 1 is very different from that of when I started my career – continued Stella – the size of a top team has now more than doubled. Suffice it to say that our staff has grown by over 20% in numerical terms in the last three years. The role of Team Principal has therefore also become more complex. Zak and I have built a horizontal team structure, in which it is essential to ensure that all leaders have the right autonomy, but at the same time we must ensure the necessary support in the long term. It goes without saying that, with this approach, the dual role I currently play would not be sustainable in the long term.” But also on an image level, the fact that McLaren has managed to snatch such an important person from Red Bull and so linked to Max Verstappen represents a notable demonstration of strength on the part of the Woking team: “The arrival of Lambiase is further confirmation of how attractive McLaren has become for the best talents in Formula 1 – confirmed Stella – this credibility that we have acquired is the result of the hard work carried out by all the men and women who have worked at McLaren in recent years to build a culture that allows people to grow and contribute to the common goal, in a healthy and pleasant environment. In addition to McLaren’s results on the track and the team ethic perceived from the outside, I am convinced that this contributed to Gianpiero’s decision to join us.”