Andrea Stella responds to Ferrari ‘pre-contract’ rumours after McLaren signs Lambiase

Andrea Stella, the McLaren team principal, has laughed off rumours that he could move to Ferrari following the signing of GianPiero Lambiase from Red Bull.

McLaren announced the signing of Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer, last week.

Andrea Stella: Ferrari rumours ‘have made me smile’

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The 45-year-old will arrive in Woking ‘no later’ than 2028 in the role of chief racing officer, reporting directly to Stella.

Initial reports surrounding Lambiase’s switch to McLaren had claimed that he had been lined up as a potential successor to Stella as team principal amid rumours of a return to Ferrari.

Stella spent more than a decade at Ferrari from 2000, winning world championships with the likes of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen and latterly acting as race engineer to Fernando Alonso, before joining McLaren in 2015.

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PlanetF1.com reported on the day of Lambiase’s signing that Stella’s role remains unchanged and that he is not set for a return to Ferrari.

However, it is possible that Lambiase is being positioned to succeed Stella when the team principal role next becomes available, with sources indicating to PlanetF1.com that Lambiase may have been sold this scenario as part of his switch to McLaren.

In an interview with McLaren’s official website, Stella admitted that the speculation of a move to Ferrari had made him “smile.”

He went on to make a light-hearted quip about the ‘poisoned biscuits’ metaphor he has used regularly to stress the importance of maintaining a healthy culture within McLaren since his appointment as team boss at the end of 2022.

Stella said: “Honestly, some of the recent rumours, including those regarding astronomical salaries and mythical pre-contracts, have made me smile.

“It almost seems as though the ‘silly season’, which usually begins before summer, has arrived early!

“I’m quite used to this sort of thing by now and I take [it] with a smile.

“It almost looks like that some envious pastry chef has tried to spoil the preparation of a good dessert at the McLaren patisserie.

“However, we do know very well how to distinguish the good ingredients from the poisoned biscuits…”

In a statement confirming the signing of Lambiase, McLaren commented that he will take on some of the responsibilities currently being managed by Stella when he arrives from Red Bull.

McLaren said: “The role of the chief racing officer already exists within the team’s structure with overall leadership of the race team.

“These duties are currently managed by Andrea Stella in addition to his role as team principal.

“Lambiase is the latest hire designed to strengthen and support the talent pool that exists at McLaren Mastercard, while also reaffirming the team’s long-term commitment to confirming its position as a championship-winning team.

“The team’s ability to attract and secure top talent, alongside the retention and promotion of highly-talented people already within the team, is a testament to the strategic vision and culture that are integrally embodied in the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, who are also both on long-term contracts.”

Fred Vasseur, the current Ferrari team principal, came under pressure in 2025 as the Scuderia suffered its first winless season since 2021.

However, the Frenchman was handed a new multi-year contract with the deal announced on the eve of last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

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