Between confirmations and denials
In the convulsive and frantic morning of Thursday, immediately after the release of the first rumors regarding the sensational transfer of Max Verstappen’s current race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, from Red Bull to McLaren, a rumor had spread – circulated by some Dutch media that had anticipated the Lambiase news – that the papaya team principal Andrea Stella would leave the team in 2028, tempted by the suggestion of a return to Ferrari, and that Lambiase would take his place. In the following hours, numerous denials arrived in this regard and it emerged that McLaren’s plan was actually to have Stella and Lambiase work together.
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View this post on InstagramA post shared by Zak Brown (@zbrownceo)
The final confirmation was provided, via social networks, directly by McLaren CEO Zak Brown. In a post published on his Instagram profile, the Californian manager welcomed Lambiase but also secured Stella’s position at the top of the Formula 1 team: “I am pleased to announce that Gianpiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting to Team Principal Andrea Stella, once his contract expires, at the latest in 2028 – Brown wrote, essentially echoing what the team wrote in the official statement – he joins an extraordinary team led by Andrea and I am excited about what we can achieve together“.
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No to the changing of the guard, yes to the Dream Team
No alternation at the top, then. On the contrary: Brown’s plan is exactly the opposite. The intention is to create a sort of dream team that allows Stella and Lambiase to work in synergy, replicating in a technical sense that combination that has seen Brown and Stella as protagonists in a managerial sense in recent years. It is not hard to think that, in addition to the salary, this work philosophy in which McLaren is investing so much also convinced Lambiase to choose the Woking factory, refusing, for example, the very intense courtship from Aston Martin in recent months.
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