Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull for McLaren when his current contract expires at the end of 2027, ending a partnership with Max Verstappen that has shaped one of the closest driver-engineer relationships on the grid.
Lambiase has worked with Verstappen since the Dutchman joined Red Bull from the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, and the move means McLaren will be bringing in a figure who has spent years at the center of Red Bull’s race operations. McLaren offered him the role of Chief Racing Officer, a post that will support Team Principal Andrea Stella and focus on running the trackside team.
The size of the move is easy to miss until the names are laid out. Aston Martin chased Lambiase hard last year, and at least two other teams, including McLaren, also sounded him out on the downlow. Red Bull, meanwhile, had tried in recent years to extend his influence beyond his duties as Verstappen’s engineer, a sign of how far his standing had grown inside the team.
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That influence was not accidental. Lambiase had been interested in a senior management role, and at Red Bull he had become one of the most influential voices in the garage and beyond. McLaren’s offer gives him exactly that kind of wider remit, while also fitting into a recruitment drive that has already brought in Rob Marshall to head up the engineering and design arm and Will Courtenay as Sporting Director.
His arrival will make him the third recruit from Red Bull as McLaren continues building out its senior management in search of long-term stability. For Verstappen, it also closes a familiar chapter: Lambiase has been his race engineer since 2016, and few partnerships in Formula One have lasted this long or carried this much weight. When Lambiase steps away after 2027, Red Bull will lose not just a senior voice, but the man who has helped steer Verstappen through nearly every defining moment of his run with the team.
