McLaren’s Andrea Stella and Red Bull’s Laurent Mekies comment on claims about GianPiero Lambiase joining McLaren as team boss during the 2026 F1 Canadian GP FIA team principal press conference.
Since the announcement that GianPiero Lambiase will join McLaren by 2028, speculation has grown that he may replace the current team principal, Andrea Stella. Rumors intensified when Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies appeared to confirm Lambiase’s upcoming role as team principal. Subsequently, McLaren and Red Bull discussed the situation in Miami, and the matter appeared to be put to rest.
Asked about the Lambiase rumors, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella reinforced his own role and explained that the reasoning for poaching Lambiase was “very simple,” as the team aims to hire the “best people” in F1. To Stella, the team’s securing Lambiase reflects McLaren’s “credibility.”
“When it comes to myself, I’m definitely fully committed to McLaren. One of the things that makes me more proud of my experience as a Team Principal is that we managed to fill the cabinet at MTC with trophies, and this meant that we needed to create another area of the cabinet, a new one. And for me, the mission is very clear: we need to fill that new area of the cabinet for the years to come at McLaren.
“And GP? It’s very simple. At McLaren, we want to employ the best people in Formula 1, the best expertise, the best leaders. And the fact that GP decided to join McLaren, for me, just speaks to the credibility of our team. So, silly season, what’s important for us is stability and that the best talents in Formula 1 want to join McLaren.”
Mekies doubles down on Lambiase team principal claim
While McLaren has since stated that they do not intend to replace its current team principal, Andrea Stella, with Lambiase, Mekies doubled down on his claim during the Canadian GP team principal press conference. Mekies noted that he merely stated what he had learned in conversation with Lambiase before the latter decided to leave.
“Look, it’s certainly my understanding that GP is going to McLaren to become a Team Principal. That’s what I told you at the time. Obviously, we had a number of conversations before he was going to make the decision. Now, don’t ask me if it’s going to happen; the timing of it is none of my business. I can just tell you the content of our conversations.”
Stella responds
While Mekies remained confident that Lambiase would eventually be promoted to team principal, McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella clarified that the team hired Lambiase to strengthen the leadership team, not as a replacement for him.
Stella repeated that McLaren’s aim is to hire the “best talents” in F1, adding that the team has been adding talent to its roster for a while. Hiring Lambiase was “part of the vision,” according to Stella. For McLaren’s team principal, the addition of Lambiase will help to build a “stronger and stronger” team, with Stella noting that he “strongly wanted” Lambiase to join the team.
“What I said before is that McLaren, for us, it’s important to employ the best talents in Formula 1 because 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.
“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. 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.
“So, I very strongly wanted GP to join McLaren. I am personally very stretched in my role as Team Principal, and I need a strong group of leaders working with me. So, I think the plan is very clear. Any other speculation leads us back to the silly season.”
