Zak Brown brands Andrea Stella-to-Ferrari talk 'total nonsense'

News of Gianpiero Lambiase’s departure from Red Bull sparked speculation over a possible return for the Italian team principal, who has been with McLaren since 2015, to Maranello, where he began and built his career. McLaren later confirmed Lambiase as its new Chief Racing Officer, with the Italian engineer set to report directly to Stella.

Addressing the rumours when asked by Sky Sports, Brown dismissed the speculation outright, describing it as baseless and suggesting it may have been stirred up by rival teams in an attempt to unsettle McLaren. He made it clear that such tactics have no effect within the team, stressing that Stella remains fully committed to McLaren, just as the team is to him, and that there is complete satisfaction on both sides.

Brown also pointed out that it was Stella himself who brought Lambiase into the project, underlining the stability and alignment within the organisation: “Andrea, at the end of the day, is the one who hired GP.”

Before Zak Brown’s comments, the man at the centre of the speculation had already moved to shut down the rumours himself. Speaking in a recent interview with McLaren’s official website, Stella downplayed the reports, treating them lightly and dismissing talk of astronomical salaries and supposed pre-agreements as little more than early “silly season” noise.

Now well accustomed to this kind of speculation, he made it clear he is taking it in his stride, even joking that it felt like someone was trying to disrupt the progress being made at McLaren, while stressing the team remains fully focused and able to separate genuine opportunities from baseless rumours.