McLaren has outlined how Gianpiero Lambiase will fit into its Formula 1 team alongside boss Andrea Stella, as it made clear Lambiase will arrive “no later than 2028.”

Lambiase, who is best known for being Max Verstappen’s long-serving F1 race engineer, has elected to switch to McLaren when his current contract with Red Bull ends.

That currently will be, as Red Bull made clear in a statement it issued on Thursday, April 9, after the 2027 season concludes.

However, in situations where senior staff are switching camps, it is common for deals to be done for early transitions – which can either be fast-tracked with financial sweeteners or as a trade for other personnel movements that may be taking place.

This is why McLaren has been much less definitive about the timing of Lambiase’s arrival – as its ‘no later’ reference suggested that there were clearly some grounds for it to hope it can get hold of him earlier.

Lambiase's new role

In its first official confirmation of the capture of Lambiase, McLaren announced that the British-Italian will be taking the role of chief racing officer – a title that team boss Andrea Stella has held himself since he took over.

However, with it clear that the job of team principal has become increasingly complex as demands on time increase, Stella and CEO Zak Brown have been pondering how to strengthen the organisation to help free Stella up.

Lambiase was singled out as an obvious target, and a push by Brown in particular to head off interest from rival squad Aston Martin over the winter succeeded - with a deal agreed many weeks ago.

The idea is not, as some have suggested, that Lambiase is being signed as a direct replacement for Stella – with speculation going as far as suggesting he could be heading to pastures new with Ferrari.

Instead, it is very much about Lambiase coming in to help support Stella on race weekend operations and work with him – with the pair having clear divisions of responsibility.

As McLaren outlined on Thursday, Lambiase will report directly into Stella.

Speculation that Stella is poised to leave the squad and depart for Ferrari has been dismissed by McLaren insiders – who are clear that the Italian is super happy not only with what the team is achieving on track but also how well the structure has come together inside the team to help it evolve and grow.

McLaren was clear that both Brown and Stella are “both on long-term contracts”, which heads off talk of any imminent departure from either of them.

Adding strength

Lambiase is one of a series of high-profile signings that McLaren has made – which includes former Red Bull staff members Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay – to help bolster leading talent that it has also successfully kept hold of.

The top-level recruitment in recent years has certainly taken advantage of Red Bull’s problems – and has been very targeted in helping address areas where McLaren itself feels it has fallen short of what is needed to be fighting for regular championships.

With Marshall and Courtenay, for example, McLaren's technical struggles until a Stella-led reshuffle, and repeated mis-steps on race execution even as it won races and titles, made it obvious that there were gains to be had by recruiting from outside.

Lambiase will now help bolster the trackside leadership, adding depth and experience, as well as free up Stella for areas of his role where his time can be better spent.

Since Stella became team principal his intensity has been apparent across all aspects of the job. For example he approaches post-race media sessions with the same kind of energy and focus as when he is in technical briefings, and keeping this up for 24 races per year is not easy.

Inevitably, there has been early speculation that Lambiase is going to McLaren as a short-term or eventual successor as team principal – the latter of which could well turn out to be true over the long haul, even though it is not part of the plan right now.

But there has been no indication that McLaren is unhappy with Stella, nor that Stella would want to leave. 

Stella has been a fantastic leader for the organisation since his slightly surprising promotion at the end of 2022 following Andreas Seidl’s sudden departure.

He is incredibly well respected, and was quick to demonstrate that he was far more than a convenient caretaker option.

The Italian commands authority within the team and across the paddock, and has clearly left his fingerprints on the organisation through technical restructures, subsequent organisational changes, and the installation of a clear culture and driver management philosophy.

However controversial that proved in 2025, it ultimately resulted in McLaren winning both championships last year, keeping both its drivers on-side in the process.

Where McLaren could get a huge win here is if Stella remains free and energised to focus on big-picture team leadership while effectively delegating significant trackside responsibilities to someone he can trust and who the team will react well to. 

Lambiase, as an engineering mind with considerable experience and respect, arrives in a similar mould to Stella.

He comes from outside the organisation, though, which does matter. 

Stella earned his standing by knowing McLaren intimately and being known and respected through many years of gradually assuming more responsibility after joining from Ferrari in 2015.

Lambiase will command respect by virtue of who he is and what he has achieved, but he will still need to learn the organisation, understand how to get the best out of it, and build effective working relationships throughout.