The rumors about Stella at Ferrari
This morning the report from De Telegraaf suggested that the arrival at McLaren of Gianpiero Lambiase could have meant the simultaneous departure of Andrea Stella. The engineer from Orvieto has been linked to a return to Ferrari, according to journalist Erik Van Haren. Subsequently, in the “Paddock Access” podcast, well-known F1 photographer Kym Illman and Limburger journalist Jacky Martens – who first broke the news of Lambiase at McLaren – went as far as to state that Stella “had already signed a pre-contract with Ferrari”.
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…but Lambiase does not exclude Stella
While the rumor of Lambiase at McLaren from 2028 has found several confirmations – although the team principal hypothesis is currently losing ground, the same has not happened for the Stella-Ferrari rumor.
The New York Times explained that “Lambiase will hold a senior role at McLaren“, a reconstruction also confirmed by The Race, which indicates “a high-level management position” and emphasizes how “some sources indicate that Lambiase will work alongside current team principal Andrea Stella, supporting him”. Sky Sports UK revealed that Lambiase will become “head of McLaren race engineers”.
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The BBC further specified this point: “The plan is for Lambiase to join McLaren’s race operations support structure, which already includes Will Courtenay and Randy Singh. Lambiase will lighten Stella’s workload in the part related to racing and track work”. Journalist Andrew Benson then continued, denying the Ferrari hypothesis: “The rumors that Lambiase’s hiring would herald Stella’s departure, destined for Ferrari, are said to be completely unfounded according to internal McLaren sources“.
Along the same lines, Roberto Chinchero from Motorsport: “The hypothesis of Stella moving to Ferrari appears even more suggestive, a connection that finds more foundation in his passport than in concrete elements. Difficult, if not impossible, to imagine Stella away from Woking today”.
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