(Motorsport-Total.com) – Is the next spectacular move at Red Bull coming? While there has been talk for some time about the departure of former world champion Max Verstappen, it is becoming apparent that his long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will soon be leaving the team: according to information from Motorsport-Total.com, he is on the verge of a move to McLaren.
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There had already been rumors of a possible departure from the team in the winter, but after careful consideration, the 45-year-old decided to stay with the Bulls, where he not only acts as Verstappen’s race engineer but also takes on a senior role at the track as “Head of Racing.”
Now, however, Red Bull and Verstappen will lose Lambiase after all. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf was the first to report on this, and sources with knowledge of the situation have since confirmed the facts to Motorsport-Total.com.
Red Bull’s former motorsport consultant, Helmut Marko, believes that the engineer’s departure will be a bitter loss for the team: “GP, as we call him, was a very essential factor in vehicle development and setup,” says the Austrian, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2025, to APA.
“Who also went his own way, not always in agreement with the rest of the technical crew. That is already a great loss of value,” says Marko, but he is confident that Red Bull will compensate for the departure: “Such a team is well-positioned. You have to see that you can find someone young in time who can take on this role.”
Move not until 2028?
However, it will be some time before Lambiase joins McLaren, as his current contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2027. Consequently, he will not move to Woking until 2028, where he is expected to support team principal Andrea Stella in a senior role at the track that has not yet been defined in detail.
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Since Stella belongs to the new generation of team principals who come from a technical background and have a broad range of tasks both on race weekends and at the factory, Lambiase’s arrival would help to relieve the Italian in managing a team of well over 1.000 employees.
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Speculation that Lambiase’s move is part of a long-term plan to succeed Stella – in view of Ferrari’s alleged interest in their former engineer – is, however, considered incorrect.
Already several departures to McLaren
The move follows a similar pattern to that of Red Bull’s former head of strategy Will Courtenay, who also had to wait until the start of this season to join McLaren. However, Lambiase could move to McLaren before 2028 if the two teams agree on an early release.
Previously, Red Bull had already lost chief designer Rob Marshall to the team in papaya orange. Other high-ranking figures who have left Red Bull in recent years include technical director Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
In addition, long-time CEO Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have also left the team within the last nine months.
Lambiase’s impending departure from Red Bull comes against the backdrop of four-time world champion Verstappen considering his future in the racing series, as he is disillusioned with the completely new technical regulations for 2026.
Verstappen’s current contract with Red Bull expires at the end of 2028, but it is known that the Dutchman has various exit clauses that could be activated as early as this summer if he wishes to leave the team earlier.
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