Max Verstappen ‘loses biggest F1 ally’ – with his Red Bull exit now looking inevitable

Max Verstappen’s esteemed F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren from Red Bull, according to reports in Dutch media.

British engineer Lambiase, who has worked with Verstappen since the driver’s Red Bull debut in 2016, is poised to link up with McLaren in a senior role, perhaps as high as team principal. The 45-year-old was linked with moves to Aston Martin and Williams before the 2026 season.

Lambiase has a contract until 2027 and would not leave Red Bull – where he has combined roles as Verstappen’s engineer with the team’s ‘Head of Racing’ since 2025 – immediately. A report in Dutch outlet De Limburger suggests 2028 could be Lambiase’s start date.

The news makes Verstappen’s exit from Red Bull, if not F1, more likely and perhaps even inevitable. The four-time world champion has already mooted retiring from the sport at the end of the current season, given his dissatisfaction with the new cars and regulations, and has previously vocalised how Lambiase is one of his three key allies in the sport, alongside father Jos and Red Bull’s former adviser Helmut Marko, who retired at the end of last season.

The Independent has approached Red Bull and McLaren for comment.

Lambiase is the latest member of Red Bull’s hierarchy to swap the Austrian drinks company for the papaya-clad outfit. Senior designer Rob Marshall and strategy guru Will Courtenay have all made the same transfer in recent years.

Long-term team principal Christian Horner was also sacked last summer, with former sporting director Jonathan Wheatley joining Audi as team principal last year – a position he has since vacated. Adrian Newey also left in 2025 for Aston Martin.

Meanwhile, Verstappen voiced his unhappiness in F1 at the last race in Suzuka and has described the 2026 cars as “anti-racing” and “like Formula E on steroids.”

After finishing eighth at the Japanese Grand Prix, leaving him ninth in the championship standings and 60 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli after three rounds, Verstappen told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock.

"Privately I'm very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it's 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you're not enjoying your sport?

"I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am. Because I also know that you can't be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time. I'm very realistic in that and I've been there before. I've not only been winning in F1.

"But at the same time when you are in P7 or P8 and you are not enjoying the whole formula behind it, it doesn't feel natural to a racing driver. Of course, I try to adapt to it, but it's not nice the way you have to race. It's really anti-driving. Then at one point, yeah, it's just not what I want to do.

"And of course you can look at it and make a lot of money. Great. But at the end of the day it's not about money any more because this has always been my passion."

Verstappen is on a £50m-a-year contract at Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. However, it is understood the 28-year-old can cut short that deal if he is outside the top two in the world championship by the summer break.

As for McLaren, what Lambiase’s arrival means for current team principal Andrea Stella remains unclear. The highly-regarded Italian has been linked with a return to Ferrari, where he worked as an engineer from 2000-2014, as team boss.

Lambiase started his F1 career with Jordan in 2005 and continued with the team in their later iterations as Midland, Spyker and Force India. He moved to Red Bull in 2015, working as Daniil Kvyat’s race engineer before teaming up with Verstappen.