F1 2026: Max Verstappen's surprising reaction to loss of Red Bull ally

Marko, Lambiase and Verstappen stood in Red Bull F1 garage — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen's surprising reaction to loss of Red Bull F1 ally

Gianpiero Lambiase has been Max Verstappen's race engineer since 2016

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 13 April 2026 09:12

Max Verstappen's surprising reaction to hearing the news of his long-time race engineer's decision to join McLaren has been revealed.

It was confirmed last week that Gianpiero Lambiase will be leaving Red Bull and instead joining McLaren in the coming years, taking up a chief racing officer role with the team.

Red Bull revealed that Lambiase will continue as Verstappen's race engineer and head of racing until he leaves in 2028, however, meaning the Dutchman will continue his partnership with Lambiase for another season or two as long as he remains with the energy drink giants.

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It has been rumoured that McLaren's capture of the four-time world champion's race engineer could be a statement of their intent to try and sign Verstappen, should he soon become available.

Verstappen's long-term future at Red Bull has been called into question across each of the last two seasons, and is now under even more scrutiny due to Red Bull's inability to provide him with a car capable of winning races so far in 2026.

But, according to the Daily Mail, a key source close to Verstappen has revealed that the four-time champion was surprisingly supportive of Lambiase's decision to quit the team in 2028, and that there is 'no problem on his side'.

Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen has already warned Red Bull that they need to get Lambiase's replacement right, when the time comes to bring somebody else in to partner the Dutchman.

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Verstappen has worked alongside Lambiase ever since he joined the team back in 2016, and the British-Italian national has helped Verstappen to grow from a teenager into an experienced driver.

They have won four world championships working alongside one another, while Lambiase has overseen all of the Dutchman's 71 grand prix victories.

While they have shared a number of fiery radio messages over the years, Verstappen and Lambiase are close friends off-track.

In 2021, Verstappen even said that he would not work with any other engineer other than Lambiase, yet again leading to suggestions that he could be set for a future link up with McLaren.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Gianpiero Lambiase