It is now confirmed that Gianpiero Lambiase is leaving Red Bull, but when will he start at McLaren? Zak Brown has given more details for the first time
When exactly will Gianpiero Lambiase move from Red Bull to McLaren? McLaren boss Zak Brown has now hinted at this. Speaking to Sky, he said: “I’m optimistic that we’ll see him at Papaya at some point next year.”
If Lambiase does indeed move to McLaren as early as 2027, that would be sooner than initially announced. Until now, McLaren had only mentioned that Lambiase would make the move “upon the expiry of his existing contract [bei Red Bull]” and “no later than 2028”. Brown’s latest comments are somewhat more specific. However, Brown did not go into further detail.
He did, however, note a general sense of optimism at McLaren: “I’m very excited about everything that’s happening at our factory,” said Brown. His team is doing “a great job” of bringing the 2026 season to a successful conclusion after a “difficult start”.
Brown: “We’ve made great progress this year. I feel that we’ve got things under control now. These are truly exciting times.”
What role Lambiase is set to play at McLaren
McLaren aims to build on this with Lambiase: The Italian-British national is set to play a similarly senior role at the Woking-based Formula 1 team as he currently does at Red Bull, where, alongside his role as Verstappen’s race engineer, he holds a senior position in race operations.
At Red Bull, Lambiase will continue to work as Max Verstappen’s race engineer until the end of 2026. However, internally, the course has already been set: from 2027, Tom Hart will take over as Verstappen’s race engineer.
This change is significant for Verstappen because, throughout his entire time at Red Bull, he has been looked after almost exclusively by Lambiase. Lambiase was absent from only a few race weekends, during which he was stood in for by Simon Rennie.
