McLaren quickly moved to end speculation surrounding Andrea Stella’s future in Formula 1. The team principal responded with good humor and irony to recent rumors suggesting a possible return to Ferrari starting in 2028.
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These speculations arose after the confirmation that Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull Racing at the end of 2027 to take a position at McLaren the following year. The move sparked comments about possible internal changes, including the hypothesis of Stella returning to the Italian team, where he began his F1 career.
McLaren itself, however, moved to dispel any doubts by confirming Lambiase as the new head of race operations. Max Verstappen’s current race engineer will report directly to Stella, strengthening the team’s structure for the future.
Stella’s history at Ferrari helped fuel the rumors. The executive worked in Maranello between 2000 and 2014, a period in which he built his trajectory in Formula 1 before moving to McLaren, where he took on increasingly important roles until reaching the team’s leadership.
In an interview with McLaren’s official website, Stella said he faced the speculations calmly and even with some humor. According to him, talks about high salaries and alleged early pre-contracts were seen as exaggerated.
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“Some recent rumors, including those about astronomical salaries and alleged pre-contracts, made me laugh. It even seems that the ‘rumor season’ (regarding drivers), which usually starts before summer, arrived earlier,” said Stella.
The McLaren chief also used a metaphor to illustrate his view on such speculations: “I am quite used to this kind of situation and face it with a smile. It seems that some jealous pastry chef tried to spoil the preparation of a good dessert at McLaren’s bakery. But we know very well how to distinguish good ingredients from poisoned cookies,” he added.
With Stella’s direct response and the confirmation of McLaren’s new structure for the coming years, the team makes it clear that no changes are planned in leadership. Thus, rumors about a possible return to Ferrari in 2028 were quickly dismissed.
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