Andrea Stella considered for Ferrari role as Fred Vasseur’s replacement despite teams performance

Photo by Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Reports are circulating that Ferrari chairman John Elkann is considering McLaren team principal Andrea Stella as a replacement for Fred Vasseur, as he wants to put an Italian at the helm of the team.

Vasseur has been in charge at Ferrari since December 2022, taking over from Mattia Binotto in Maranello. The Frenchman joined Ferrari from Sauber at the same time Stella stepped into the team principal role at McLaren, replacing Andreas Seidl ahead of the 2023 season.

Since Stella took over, McLaren have seen a significant turnaround. The team won back-to-back constructors’ championships and Lando Norris claimed the drivers’ title in 2025. It was their first constructors’ title since 1998 and their first drivers’ crown since 2008.

Vasseur has spent his tenure working to rebuild processes that could eventually return titles to Maranello. Kimi Raikkonen secured Ferrari’s last drivers’ championship in 2007, and with their most recent teams’ title coming in 2008, this period marks their longest title drought.

Ferrari chairman wants Andrea Stella to replace Vasseur

But it’s not just about results. According to RTL reporter Felix Gorner, Ferrari chairman Elkann is looking at Stella because he wants an Italian leading the team in Maranello. McLaren’s recent hire of Red Bull’s Gianpiero Lambiase could also play into Elkann’s plans.

McLaren announced on Thursday that Lambiase will join from Red Bull by the 2028 season as their new chief racing officer. Stella was involved in bringing Lambiase over, but Gorner believes McLaren see him as a future team principal.

Gorner told sport.de: “Lambiase is leaving with the prospect of a career move. He is being groomed to succeed Andrea Stella as team principal at McLaren. Perhaps things will move more quickly, as early as January 1, 2028.

“This could also trigger another shake-up in Formula 1, with Stella potentially replacing Fred Vasseur at Ferrari, according to the plan of Ferrari boss John Elkann, who would like to have Stella – an Italian – at the Scuderia.”

After reports surfaced on Thursday about Lambiase leaving Red Bull, some claimed that Stella already had a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari. But McLaren were quick to dismiss any suggestions that Lambiase’s arrival meant Stella was on his way out.

The club has stated that Lambiase will report to both Stella and CEO Zak Brown and will be there to ease some of the race weekend pressure off Stella. He is expected to take on a significant role within McLaren’s race operations, allowing Stella more time away from day-to-day tasks.

Stella spent more than a decade at Ferrari before joining McLaren in 2015. He began his career as a performance engineer and worked alongside Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen during their title-winning seasons for the Scuderia.

Read more:

• Ferrari may be lining up a move for a senior Red Bull figure who Max Verstappen does not trust
• David Coulthard thinks Mark Webber’s reduced role in Oscar Piastri’s team was ‘inevitable’
• Adrian Newey admits some of Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 problems are down to him