Andrea Stella has admitted to feeling ‘very stretched’ in his role as McLaren team principal, just as Laurent Mekies doubled down on his claim that Gianpiero Lambiase will be taking over the job when he arrives.
Lambiase is still under contract at Red Bull, but the switch is expected to happen soon. The news was first dropped live on TV by Mekies during the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
It’s no secret there’s been tension between the two teams since their close title battle last year. Red Bull weren’t happy with how McLaren handled Lambiase’s appointment, especially after they referenced previous hires from Milton Keynes in their announcement.
Laurent Mekies stands by Gianpiero Lambiase’s role at McLaren
Speaking to the media ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Mekies addressed his earlier comments made in Miami. Zak Brown had tried to downplay those remarks at the time, but Mekies didn’t backtrack when asked again in Montreal.
“Look, it’s certainly my understanding that [Gianpiero Lambiase] is going to McLaren to become a team principal,” Mekies said in the FIA press conference. “That’s what I told you at the time. Obviously, we had a number of conversations before he was going to make the decisions.
“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.”
Andrea Stella addresses Mekies’ comments on Lambiase’s future
Stella, who was also in the press conference, didn’t directly contradict what Mekies had said.
When asked if he wanted to add anything to Mekies’ remarks, Stella replied: “What I said before is that McLaren, for us, is important to employ the best talents in Formula 1, because Zak [Brown] and I want to build the strongest team, not only in the present.
“We have some good references as to strong teams in the past. I’ve been part of the Ferrari team in the early 2000s, and I know what level of seniority, expertise and leadership you need to be successful in the present and in the future.
“Employing GP is part of this vision, which is a vision of creating additive leadership that can integrate with the present leadership and create a stronger and stronger team at McLaren. So 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 people working with me.”
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