MONTREAL, May 22 – Red Bull’s team leader Laurent Mekies maintained his position that Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will move to McLaren as team principal, even as current principal Andrea Stella insisted he would remain in his role.
Mekies initially made this claim during the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, prompting McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown to respond that the Frenchman apparently “knows something I don’t.”
“Look, it’s certainly my understanding that GP (Lambiase) is going to McLaren to become a team principal,” Mekies stated during an FIA news conference at the Canadian Grand Prix on Friday, with Stella present when questioned about the matter again.
“That’s what I told you at the time (in Miami).”
“Obviously we had a number of conversations before he was going to make that 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.”
McLaren revealed Lambiase’s transfer in April, setting his arrival for no later than 2028 when his current contract expires.
The team also stated he would take on the position of Chief Racing Officer, working in a support capacity alongside Stella.
Stella, leading a team that has captured two straight constructors’ championships and Lando Norris’s drivers’ title last season, has faced media rumors linking him to Ferrari, while speculation surrounds their Australian driver Oscar Piastri potentially moving to Red Bull.
Questions have also emerged about whether four-time world champion Verstappen might follow Lambiase to McLaren, though Mekies expressed no concern about this possibility.
Stella dismissed the various rumors on Friday, with the Italian affirming his complete dedication to McLaren, noting Piastri’s contentment and suggesting the ‘Silly Season’ had begun early.
“For us, it’s important to employ the best talents in Formula One because Zak and I want to build the strongest team,” he continued.
“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 … of creating additive leadership that can integrate with the present leadership and create a stronger and stronger team at McLaren.
“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.”
