Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s regular race engineer, is leaving Red Bull Racing. The Briton, who is also Head of Racing, still has an ongoing contract with the Austrian team until 2027, but he will join competitor McLaren after that.
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Lambiase has already been linked to several top teams recently, including Aston Martin and Williams. De Limburger reports that McLaren, the team of reigning world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, has won the battle for Lambiase. Several sources in the paddock have since unofficially confirmed the news. At McLaren, he will see a significant financial improvement. Red Bull Racing is refraining from comment for the time being.
Red Bull Exodus
Lambiase is the latest in a series of key figures to leave Red Bull in a relatively short period. Over the past two years, designer Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, aero designer Rob Marshall, and head strategist Will Courtenay, among others, chose an adventure elsewhere. The latter two also moved to McLaren. Furthermore, team principal Christian Horner was dismissed at Red Bull and advisor Helmut Marko called it a day.
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Max Verstappen has worked intensively with Gianpiero Lambiase since his move from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in 2016. The latter previously said that he would never want to work with another driver after Verstappen. To be clear: Lambiase’s departure will only take effect after his current contract expires (which runs until 2027). This means that the collaboration between the two will, in principle, remain intact until then.
At McLaren, Lambiase may take on the role of team principal, under CEO Zak Brown. The role of team principal at McLaren is currently held by Andrea Stella, but the Italian may return to Ferrari.
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