Lewis Hamilton F1 Ferrari switch sparks team boss warning

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Miami, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari switch sparks F1 team boss warning

Zak Brown compared the Hamilton move to Gianpiero Lambiase leaving Red Bull

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Tuesday 5 May 2026 08:14

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has used Lewis Hamilton's 2025 move to Ferrari as a useful point of comparison for his own team's hire of Gianpiero Lambiase from Red Bull.

Much as Hamilton's move was confirmed almost a full year before he actually made the switch to the Scuderia, Lambiase's exit from Red Bull has been agreed already, despite the fact that he may not be allowed to start his new job until 2028.

McLaren are pushing for Lambiase to be allowed out of his Red Bull deal early to join the reigning constructors' champions sooner than later – possibly at the end of the current season.

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Brown appeared to be laying more groundwork to push for that accelerated move on Sky Sports at the Miami Grand Prix, pointing out that keeping around an employee who you know has agreed to leave for a rival can create an awkward atmosphere.

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Brown: Things can get uncomfortable

Mercedes, as Brown pointed out, started to hold meetings without Hamilton present in the second half of his final season with the team, in order to stop him bringing valuable insights to Maranello with him over the winter.

The McLaren boss seemed to concede that no personnel change would come before the end of the current season, but insisted there would be a 'chat' about the situation at some point.

“At some point it'll be probably uncomfortable having someone that you know going to a rival team," he said. "My general view is, if someone wants to move on, you need to do it in a measured way.

“It makes things uncomfortable, right? If I had someone in my racing team that I knew was going whether it's a racing driver, you see it in racing drivers. Lewis went to Ferrari, announced it early.

“At some point, Mercedes starts understandably cutting off knowledge that he might have. And that's just how the business works. We'll see how it plays out. We've got time. We know we're all settled for '26 so we'll chat about it when the time's right.”