Max Verstappen F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase quits Red Bull to join rivals

Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen, generic, 2025, Qatar — Photo: © IMAGO

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Max Verstappen F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase quits Red Bull to join rivals

Lambiase is expected to move to a rival F1 team

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 9 April 2026 09:25 Updated: 14:57

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Max Verstappen's long-time F1 race engineer Gianpiero 'GP' Lambiase is quitting Red Bull to join rival team McLaren.

The shocking move adds to a long list of key exits from the Milton Keynes team in the last two years - notably Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko and Jonathan Wheatley among others.

The 45-year-old Londoner Lambiase, who moved to Red Bull in 2015 to become Daniil Kvyat's race engineer, has worked with Verstappen from 2016 and helped him to four world titles between 2021 to 2024.

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Alongside his duties as race engineer and team radio voice for the champion, Lambiase was also promoted to head of racing at Red Bull in 2024, fulfilling these duties while also remaining on the pitwall.

Lambiase set for senior McLaren role

It is understood that Lambiase will leave Red Bull to take up a senior role at McLaren in the next couple of years, but the exact date of his arrival is unknown as he remains under contract with Red Bull.

The year 2028 has been given as the latest Lambiase will join the Woking-based team, while some report a deal is now in place for him to join McLaren when his current contract with Red Bull ends next year.

It has also been suggested that Lambiase's role at McLaren will be to support and work alongside current team principal Andrea Stella, removing some of the race-weekend responsibilities from the Italian.

What does Lambiase exit mean for Max Verstappen?

The reports follow a tumultuous opening three rounds for the struggling Red Bull outfit alongside a much aggrieved Verstappen with the 2026 cars, who is reportedly 'seriously considering' retirement.

A move to McLaren would see Lambiase reunite with former Red Bull colleagues Will Courtenay and Rob Marshall, who also left for the papaya team.

More than being just another exit for Red Bull, Lambiase's departure will have huge repercussions on Verstappen's side of the garage.

Verstappen has spoke often about his respect and bond with his race engineer and remained supportive over Lambiase during a difficult 2025 in his personal life, often referring to his colleague as a 'friend'.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Gianpiero Lambiase