Ferrari ‘will throw everything they’ve got’ at Andrea Stella to convince him to come back

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Zak Brown knows Ferrari will go all-out to sign Andrea Stella from McLaren, according to Viaplay commentator Nelson Valkenburg. Gianpiero Lambiase’s impending arrival has led to uncertainty over Stella’s future.

McLaren made clear in their statement announcing the Lambiase move that he would work alongside Stella, rather than replace him. The team have strongly pushed back on rumours that he could rejoin Ferrari.

Stella started his F1 career at Maranello in 2000, the same year Michael Schumacher won the first of five world championships. He also helped Kimi Raikkonen win the title in 2007 and worked with Fernando Alonso before following him to McLaren in 2015.

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Is Gianpiero Lambiase Zak Brown’s backup plan if Andrea Stella leaves?

Valkenburg suspects that Ferrari are ‘desperate’ to bring Stella home after seeing what he’s achieved as McLaren team principal. When he took on the role at the start of 2023, they had just finished fifth in the championship – 600 points behind Red Bull.

McLaren regained frontrunning status in Stella’s first season and then won the championship in his second year before retaining the title comfortably in 2025. The Italian engineer has become one of the most respected figures in the paddock.

Valkenburg thinks Stella will, in the coming years, decide that his job is done at McLaren. The opportunity to lead Ferrari and potentially end their nearly 20-year title drought may tempt him.

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McLaren CEO Brown might, therefore, be making contingency plans by signing a figure like Lambiase.

“Zak will know that Ferrari will throw everything they’ve got at getting a guy like Stella back into the Italian fold,” Valkenburg said on Nailing the Apex. “They need to, they would be stupid if they wouldn’t.

“Zak is looking ahead and trying to look out for his team in that respect, that’s how I read it at least.

“I believe there is a future, it doesn’t need to be imminent, where Zak and Andrea part super amicably, and not because of drama, but because some projects are played out. When you’ve achieved everything and you are looking for the next thing, you want to maybe move back to your native country.”

Stella’s return wouldn’t automatically end Fred Vasseur’s relationship with Ferrari, but it’s difficult to see how both could be accommodated within the current structure.

Why Gianpiero Lambiase’s job title at McLaren raises eyebrows

Lambiase will join McLaren as their chief racing officer, a title that’s strikingly similar to his ‘head of racing’ role at Red Bull. On the face of it, it looks like a sideways move.

But Erik van Haren reckons the prospect of becoming team principal is a major incentive, even if he has to wait a few years before Stella moves.

• READ MORE: John Elkann wants Andrea Stella to replace Fred Vasseur and it has nothing to do with Ferrari form

“That isn’t very different from head of racing at Red Bull,” said Van Haren on Telesport’s F1 podcast. “It is, of course, about what has been presented to him. In the long term, whether that’s in 2028 when he starts working there or one to two years later, he can become team principal there.”

Lambiase was also offered the Aston Martin team principal role before the season started, but he turned down the approach from former colleague Adrian Newey.