F1 News: Zak Brown hints at early Gianpiero Lambiase McLaren move

Gianpiero Lambiase, Zak Brown, generic, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Zak Brown drops major hint over early McLaren arrival for Max Verstappen ally

The timeline for GP to McLaren could speed up considerably

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Tuesday 6 October 2026 08:05

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Gianpiero Lambiase could leave Red Bull to join McLaren sooner than expected according to Zak Brown.

It was in early April that the news first broke that Lambiase - long-time race engineer for Max Verstappen and Head of Racing at Red Bull - would be making the move to wear papaya no later than 2028.

It was another crushing blow for Red Bull, who had already lost the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley in a massive talent drain.

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That 'no later than 2028' stance though appears to have softened considerably based on recent events.

First of all Red Bull have filled both of Lambiase's current roles for 2027 with Tom Hart set to take over as Verstappen's race engineer and Tom McCullough joining from Aston Martin as Head of Racing.

Brown hopeful GP will join McLaren in 2027

Speculation that Red Bull could release Lambiase earlier than expected ramped up further when he was seen deep in conversation with McLaren CEO Brown at the Spanish Grand Prix last month.

Now we have an even clearer indication that things are moving forward on this move, in the shape of comments made by Brown during Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang, Malaysia.

Brown told Sky Sports F1 that every effort is being made to bring Lambiase on board sooner rather than later, revealing: "I'm optimistic that we'll see him in papaya at some point next year."

Brown excited about the future and WEC debut

McLaren have endured a mixed 2026 so far after claiming back-to-back Constructors' Championships in 2024 and 2025 and seeing Lando Norris crowned world drivers' champion in 2025.

Brown though remains excited about the future, including the team's hypercar debut in the World Endurance Championship in 2027.

"I'm very excited about everything that we've got going on at the factory, the men and women have been doing a great job," he added.

"We've made a lot of gains this year from what was a very tough start to the year, but I feel like we're on top of things now-ish.

"There's still a lot of work to do, the drivers are driving great, it's exciting times. We've got the World Endurance [Championship] going on, our IndyCar team.

"So it's good to have a papaya shirt to show up to work at the MTC every day."

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