(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 team Red Bull is preparing for the upcoming departure of Gianpiero Lambiase. Max Verstappen’s race engineer will move to McLaren in 2028 and is expected to take a senior position there. It is now confirmed who will internally succeed Lambiase: Tom Hart. Red Bull confirmed this to Motorsport-Total.com.
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Actually, Hart had other plans: The British engineer wanted to move to Williams to work there as Alexander Albon’s race engineer. However, Red Bull managed to convince Hart to stay. Red Bull and Williams have agreed on the matter. This had already become apparent at least to team principal Laurent Mekies.
When he was asked about current transfer rumors around chief engineer Paul Monaghan at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, Mekies responded evasively: “If I look at the names that have been circulating in recent months, most of them are still in our garage. Some never wanted to leave anyway, others have changed their minds and are now staying with us.”
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The latter can be interpreted as a hint towards Hart, who only received a new role in the team starting the 2026 season. After several years as Verstappen’s performance engineer, Hart was given a senior position overseeing both Red Bull cars.
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Hart becomes race engineer – even if Verstappen should leave
Exactly when he will take over the role of Verstappen’s race engineer is still open. This also depends on when Lambiase leaves Red Bull. A gradual transition from Lambiase to Hart is possible, with Hart taking over some weekends in 2026 before becoming Verstappen’s full-time race engineer in 2027.
The role of race engineer is considered secured for Hart – even if Verstappen leaves Red Bull. In that case, Hart would act as race engineer for Verstappen’s successor.
The situation is different with Monaghan: He is said to be close to a move to Cadillac but has not formally resigned from Red Bull yet. However, Monaghan was absent both two weeks ago in Silverstone and now in Spa-Francorchamps – unusual for a Formula 1 chief engineer.