Max Verstappen engineer holds F1 paddock meeting with McLaren boss

Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has been spotted hanging out with his new employer at the Spanish Grand Prix this week.

Lambiase has agreed a contract to move to McLaren at the start of 2028, continuing in his Red Bull role alongside Verstappen for the time being this season as his existing contract continues.

The experienced engineer was seen sat in conversation with McLaren CEO Zak Brown at the brand new Madring circuit, although there are no indications of what they were talking about.

McLaren are still hoping to find a way to extricate Lambiase from his Red Bull contract earlier than its current late-2027 expiry date, with some manner of agreement between the teams looking on the cards to get Verstappen's race engineer in orange at some point next season.

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Red Bull preparing for life after Lambiase

Tom Hart is expected to take over some of Lambiase's duties with the team once he finally leaves. While the team haven't confirmed a timeline for a full handover of his duties, it seems likely that Hart will be the man on the radio for the four-time world champion full-time next season.

It was confirmed last week that Tom McCullough will leave Aston Martin at the end of the year to join Red Bull as their Head of Racing for 2027, a position that Lambiase currently holds alongside his work with Verstappen.

The expectation is that Lambaise's two roles in the team will be split between McCullough and Hart, with the latter taking up the mantle of Verstappen's race engineer.

Hart also took over as Verstappen's race engineer for one session at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix, a move the team are expected to make multiple further times this season as they prepare for a full handover for 2027.

?Gianpiero Lambiase charla con su futuro jefe, Zak Brown, en Madring

?El ingeniero de Max Verstappen abandonará Red Bull al término de esta temporada y pondrá rumbo a McLaren

?@jiglesiash11 #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/MKfiOATimq

— SoyMotor.com (@SoyMotor) September 12, 2026

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