Mekies insists Lambiase will be team principal, sparking McLaren row
Laurent Mekies has been described variously as Red Bull’s sporting director and as Red Bull team principal (some reports call him sporting director; others call him team principal).
Gianpiero Lambiase is Max Verstappen’s race engineer and has been Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016.
Lambiase was promoted to Red Bull’s head of racing in late 2024.
Lambiase is contracted to Red Bull until 2028 and is expected to join McLaren no later than the 2028 season.
McLaren announced in April 2026 that Lambiase will join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer reporting to team boss Andrea Stella.
Laurent Mekies said Lambiase is “going to McLaren to become a team principal.”
Mekies first made that claim at the Miami Grand Prix and reiterated it at the FIA team principals’ press conference in Montreal during the Canadian Grand Prix.
Mekies said he stood by his reading that prior conversations with Lambiase pointed toward a team‑principal role but declined to discuss specific timing.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown said Lambiase is due to join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer to relieve Andrea Stella’s workload and said Lambiase’s arrival at McLaren will be completed by 2028 at the latest.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown dismissed Laurent Mekies’ remarks about Gianpiero Lambiase’s future role and had sought to downplay Mekies’s Miami remark.
Andrea Stella welcomed Lambiase’s employment as part of building “additive leadership.”
Andrea Stella said he is “personally stretched” in his role (one report) and described himself as “personally very stretched” at a press conference (another report).
Andrea Stella labeled speculation about succession as “silly season.”
No formal appointment of Gianpiero Lambiase as McLaren team principal has been announced.
The exchange between Mekies and McLaren leadership represented a public disagreement over how to interpret Lambiase’s future role and has fueled speculation about possible personnel changes and succession at McLaren.
