Key Max Verstappen ally 'in negotiations' with another F1 team and it's not Aston Martin

Max Verstappen's F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is now being linked with another F1 team, after being reported to being in talks with Aston Martin.

Lambiase has been Verstappen's race engineer since 2016, and has overseen the Dutchman winning four world championships between 2021-2024.

Following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in which Verstappen lost out on the 2025 title by just two points, the 28-year-old said over team radio in a cryptic message: "We showed them one final time who's boss."

In the last few days, Lambiase has been rumoured to be in talks with Aston Martin over a senior leadership role within the team that have already poached design legend Adrian Newey from Red Bull.

Now, however, it seems other teams are sniffing around the services of the Brit, with Motorsport.it reporting that 'negotiations' are ongoing with Williams team principal James Vowles about a role with the Grove-based team.

Williams are seemingly on the up, following a fifth-place finish in the constructors' championship in 2025, a season in which they also claimed two grand prix podiums through Carlos Sainz.

With Sainz and Alex Albon, they have one of the best driver lineups on the grid, and they are hoping to make further progress in 2026 when new regulations sweep into the sport.

Red Bull's new era

As well as Newey, Red Bull have had multiple other key figures from within the team leaving within the last couple of years.

Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley left to become Sauber's team principal, while long-time team principal Christian Horner was sacked earlier this year after 20 years in the role.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, motorsport advisor Helmut Marko also opted to retire after being in that role since the team's inception in the sport back in 2005.

It means that there is very much a new era at Red Bull, spearheaded by Laurent Mekies and underpinned by a desire to create their own power units from the 2026 season onwards, in partnership with Ford.

If Lambiase were to leave, however, it would mean yet another big name departing the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

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