(Motorsport-Total.com) – Although Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies will lose Gianpiero Lambiase to McLaren in the medium term, he nevertheless expresses understanding for the move of Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer: “He has received an extraordinary opportunity. We respect the fact that such an opportunity only comes once in a lifetime,” he said on Sky Sports.
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And even if the news may have been new to many, it was something Red Bull had been discussing with Lambiase for a long time, Mekies emphasizes. Therefore, they are not parting on bad terms: “We wish him all the best for this next chapter,” said the team principal.
“We will make sure in due course that we turn this into an opportunity for our own people and for the profile we want to cover in the future.”
Mekies is not the only Red Bull member who has publicly wished the 45-year-old all the best for his next step. Verstappen also recently said that Lambiase would have been “stupid not to accept it.”
“It is an incredible opportunity for him, not only because of the role itself but also for his future. You also have to think about his family and long-term security,” explained Verstappen, whose own future at Red Bull is also the subject of speculation due to his contract expiring in 2028, to Viaplay.
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“He told me that he wanted to hear it from me, and I said: ‘You should definitely just do it 100 percent.’ We have already achieved everything together, and more than once. We have won a lot, and that will not change.”
“We are both still young. You never know what will happen in the future; maybe we will work together again someday. We will remain lifelong friends. Everyone has their own goals and ambitions, you can’t stop anyone. In the end, everyone has to develop further,” said the Dutchman.
Lambiase is already the third senior Red Bull employee to be poached by McLaren: previously, Rob Marshall as chief designer and Will Courtenay as sporting director had already moved to the team from Woking.
Lambiase will become Chief Racing Officer at the reigning world champion team and is expected to support team principal Andrea Stella in a role at the racetrack.
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