With the future departure of race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to McLaren, Max Verstappen has one less argument to stay at Red Bull longer, believes driver and columnist Jeroen Bleekemolen. “For Max, this might be an extra motivation to start looking further himself,” says Bleekemolen.
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This morning it was announced that Verstappen’s regular race engineer and confidant Lambiase will make the switch to competitor McLaren after his contract (which runs until 2027) expires. “Max can also do without Lambiase, first of all, but they are of course a rock-solid duo. They understand each other well and I think they also have a lot of fun together. This naturally has an impact,” says Jeroen Bleekemolen. Verstappen himself has an ongoing contract at Red Bull until 2028, which reportedly includes the necessary escape clauses.
Read also: Lambiase makes the switch from Red Bull to McLaren
According to Jeroen Bleekemolen, the departure of Gianpiero Lambiase is new evidence of the decline of Red Bull. After all, the Brit is the latest key figure to leave the Austrian racing team, following men like Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, Christian Horner, and Helmut Marko. “There are still plenty of good people left, but the stronghold seems to be starting to crumble.”
Read more Gianpiero Lambiase leaves Verstappen and Red Bull, moves to McLaren
Wrong signal
Jeroen Bleekemolen: “As a team, you obviously prefer not to see your best people go to the competition; that sends the wrong signal, also towards Max Verstappen. You want him to keep believing in it. Because if Max also leaves, there won’t be much left. On the other hand: we mainly notice that many key figures are leaving Red Bull, but of course, other people will replace them. If those are young, ambitious people who haven’t won world titles yet, that could in itself be something positive. But my feeling is that the balance is tipping the wrong way.”
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