McLaren confirm talks to sign Red Bull F1 star early

Red Bull

McLaren confirm talks to sign Red Bull F1 star early

McLaren boss Zak Brown revealed that talks are underway

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 24 April 2026 19:30 Updated: 19:45

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McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown has confirmed talks with a view to securing the early release of Gianpiero Lambiase from his Red Bull contract.

Over the past three years, McLaren have poached a number of key personnel from the Red Bull team, starting with chief designer Rob Marshall, sporting director Will Courtenay and recently Max Verstappen's race engineer Lambiase.

Lambiase will join McLaren as their chief racing officer to support team principal Andrea Stella when his existing contract with Red Bull ends.

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McLaren have said that Lambiase will join the team 'no later than 2028', but there has been speculation he could negotiate an early exit with Red Bull.

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Brown: There is a chance of an early Lambiase exit

Speaking to Sky Sports' Craig Slater, Brown was asked about the chance of Lambiase joining the team earlier the 2028.

Brown responded: "Well, there's always a chance, but he has a contract and we're going to respect that.

"Obviously, we're in conversations with Red Bull, they need to I presume obviously have a have a solution and then once and if that's in place, open to have a dialogue.

"But we're prepared to wait till 2028 and that's what we'll do if that's what ends up happening."

Will Verstappen follow Lambiase to McLaren?

Given the number of high-profile Red Bull departures and their current status in the 2026 championship, there has also been speculation that Verstappen could activate his supposed exit clause.

The most recent updates on this clause suggest that it will become active this summer if he is not in the top two in the championship standings - Verstappen is currently P9.

Whether that means Verstappen will join Lambiase at McLaren, is more difficult to gauge. As Brown continued to Sky Sports: "From McLaren's point of view, I couldn't be happier with Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri].

"We have long-term agreements with them, and I think it's the greatest driver pairing on and off the track. So we have no intention of replacing any of our two superstars.

"Obviously, if one were to go away, then yeah, Max is a huge talent, but I'm not anticipating that.

"Where might he go? If I had to bet, I'd say to Mercedes."