F1 2026: Max Verstappen summoned back to Red Bull with Gianpiero Lambiase

Red Bull

Max Verstappen summoned back to Red Bull with Gianpiero Lambiase

A meeting involving Verstappen and Lambiase was requested by Red Bull

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 23 April 2026 08:15

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Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has been called back to Red Bull duties, with Gianpiero Lambiase at his side.

Verstappen's British-Italian race engineer announced at the start of the five-week enforced F1 break that he would be leaving the energy drink giants no later than 2028, instead heading to McLaren.

Naturally, this sparked questions over the Dutchman's own future, with many stating that the 28-year-old who is already said to be 'seriously considering' retirement could even be out the door before GP.

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It’s still a waiting game before the F1 2026 season truly kicks off again after both of this month's Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled, but several teams have still kept busy gathering data with testing laps this week.

Red Bull Racing, for instance, recently summoned Verstappen back to Silverstone, where he was reunited with GP and their F1 team principal, Laurent Mekies.

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The F1 2026 calendar resumes with the Miami Grand Prix next weekend, but in the meantime, teams have been busy filling the schedule with testing sessions – Alpine were spotted at Zandvoort and Ferrari have been busy at Monza.

Red Bull have also been keeping busy this week.

The Milton Keynes-based squad previously logged time at Silverstone, and now the British outfit have released an engaging video on social media capturing a reunion among its key figures.

The clip shows a meeting between Verstappen and his close ally Lambiase as Red Bull returned to Silverstone on Wednesday, April 22, with a caption that simply stated: "We're back".

The video also featured a light-hearted moment as Verstappen appeared to be seen sharing a humorous video with his typically serious F1 boss, Mekies, who will be hoping Red Bull and Verstappen can both pick up some points when the campaign returns after a dismal start to the season has left them P6 in the constructors' championship.

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A post shared by Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing)

When is the next F1 race?

The Japanese GP at the end of March marked the last race for over a month, with fans, drivers and teams enduring a five-week long enforced break in the 2026 calendar throughout April.

The fourth round of the 2026 championship will return next weekend in Miami, and will also mark the second sprint race of the year.

As a result, just a single practice session will take place on Friday, May 1, before sprint qualifying at 4:30pm local time (EDT).

Saturday, May 2 will then see the sprint race kick off at midday EDT before qualifying for the main grand prix takes place at 4pm.

Sunday, May 3 will then likely see F1 return, with lights out for the Miami GP at 4pm EDT.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Gianpiero Lambiase Laurent Mekies