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Andrea Stella has spoken about Gianpiero Lambiase’s decision to leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2028.
It was confirmed last week that Lambiase had agreed to join McLaren from Red Bull in 2028.
The 45-year-old, who is currently working as Max Verstappen’s race engineer, will take on the role of Chief Racing Officer at McLaren.
Lambiase is set to report to team principal Stella, and his arrival will allow the Italian to focus on other aspects of his job.
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Andrea Stella speaks out on Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move
Speaking to the McLaren official website, Stella touched on what convinced Lambiase to leave Red Bull for McLaren.
Stella stated that he is ‘convinced’ that the team’s results, culture and reputation ‘contributed’ to Lambiase’s decision.
He said: “GianPiero’s arrival will add a great amount of expertise and potential to the team for the long term.
“At the same time, it is further confirmation of how attractive McLaren has become to the best talents in Formula 1.
“This credibility we have gained is the result of the hard work done by all men and women who have worked at McLaren over recent years to build a culture that allows people to grow and contribute to the common goal, in a healthy and enjoyable environment.
“On top of McLaren’s results on the track and the team’s ethos perceived in the right way from the outside, I am convinced contributed to GianPiero deciding to join us.”
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Max Verstappen reacts to Gianpiero Lambiase’s decision to leave Red Bull for McLaren
Having worked with Lambiase since joining Red Bull back in 2016, Verstappen was asked about his race engineer’s exit during an event in Amsterdam on Thursday evening.
The 28-year-old spoke about the conversation that took place between the pair before Lambiase accepted McLaren’s offer.
As reported by Dutch news outlet De Telegraaf, Verstappen said: “He told me what kind of offer he got. I said you’d be stupid not to do that. We have already achieved everything together.
“And then he gets such a great offer, also with an eye to his family and the security he gets from it.
“He asked me for some kind of permission, and I told him to be 100% sure. He wanted to hear that from my mouth.”
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