Gianpiero Lambiase will join McLaren by 2028 at the latest – what role he will have at Woking and why his move could take place earlier
McLaren has officially confirmed the signing of Gianpiero Lambiase. After several media outlets had already reported on the impending transfer of Max Verstappen’s race engineer, McLaren confirmed it in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
In this press release, McLaren revealed that Lambiase will take on the role of Chief Racing Officer. According to the team: “The position of ‘Chief Racing Officer’ is already anchored in the team structure and includes the overall management of the racing team.”
“These tasks are currently carried out by Andrea Stella in addition to his role as Team Principal,” explains the racing team. In other words: Lambiase is to relieve Team Principal Stella and take on some of his tasks. There will therefore be no major restructuring.
The last sentence in the press release is also exciting: “The team looks forward to welcoming Gianpiero Lambiase when his current contract expires, or in 2028 at the latest.”
Lambiase is still under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2027. However, the wording in the press release leaves room for speculation and the possibility that the Bulls could release Lambiase from his contract early.
In this case, the 45-year-old could move to McLaren before 2028. However, Red Bull itself also issued a press release on Thursday afternoon stating: “Red Bull Racing confirms that Gianpiero Lambiase will leave the team in 2028 when his current contract expires.”
There is no mention of an early departure. “Until his planned departure, ‘GP’ will continue to perform his duties as ‘Head of Racing’ and as Max Verstappen’s race engineer,” said the Bulls.
Lambiase joined Red Bull for the 2015 Formula 1 season and has been working there as a race engineer with Max Verstappen since 2016. In this role, he accompanied the Dutchman to four world championship titles in a row between 2021 and 2024.
