Andrea Stella admits he is ‘very stretched’ as Laurent Mekies reiterates Gianpiero Lambiase claim

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Andrea Stella has admitted that he is ‘very stretched’ as McLaren’s team principal, moments after Laurent Mekies doubled down on his claim that Gianpiero Lambiase will become the Woking-based outfit’s boss upon his arrival at the team.

At the previous round of racing in Miami, Laurent Mekies dropped a bombshell on live TV as he claimed that Gianpiero Lambiase would become the team principal of McLaren upon his switch from the Red Bull Racing outfit.

Rank each of McLaren’s recent hires from Red Bull out of 10 after signing Gianpiero Lambiase

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There seems to be a hint of animosity between the two constructors that went all the way in last year’s title fight. Red Bull found McLaren’s announcement of Lambiase ‘childish’, due to the fact that they included a reference to their previous acquisitions from Milton Keynes.

• READ MORE: Laurent Mekies tells McLaren that Gianpiero Lambiase won’t join for another two years

Laurent Mekies doubles down on Gianpiero Lambiase’s future role at McLaren

During the team principal’s press conference at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Mekies was asked about his slip inside the Miami paddock.

Zak Brown was previously quick to downplay Mekies’ claim in South Beach, but the Frenchman has refused to backtrack on his words as he doubled down 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 Canadian Grand Prix 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.”

• READ MORE: Red Bull urged to be ‘wise’ with Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move due to Max Verstappen effect

Andrea Stella responds to Laurent Mekies’ Gianpiero Lambiase claim

Naturally, McLaren’s current team principal, Andrea Stella, was also present in the presser and failed to rebuke Mekies’ words.

Asked if he had anything to add to the Red Bull team principal’s comments, Stella said, “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.”