Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies understands Gianpiero Lambiase’s move to McLaren because it represents a unique opportunity for him
Although Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies will lose Gianpiero Lambiase to McLaren in the medium term, he is sympathetic to the move of Max Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer: “He has been given an exceptional opportunity. We respect the fact that an opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime,” he said on Sky Sports.
And even if the news may have been new to many, it was something that Red Bull had been discussing with Lambiase for a long time, as Mekies emphasizes. As a result, they are not parting on bad terms: “We wish him all the best for this next stage,” said the team boss.
“We will make sure in due course that we turn this into an opportunity for our own people and for the profile of requirements that we want to cover in the future.”
Mekies is not the only Red Bull member to have publicly wished the 45-year-old all the best for his next step. Verstappen also recently said that Lambiase would have been “stupid not to take it”.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for him, not just for the role itself, but also for his future. You also have to think about his family and long-term security,” Verstappen, whose own future at Red Bull is also the subject of speculation due to his contract expiring in 2028, told Viaplay.
“He told me that he wanted to hear it from me and I said: ‘100 percent you should just do it’. We’ve already achieved everything together, and more than once. We’ve won a lot, that’s not going to change.”
“We’re both still young. You never know what will happen in the future; maybe we’ll work together again at some point. We will remain lifelong friends. Everyone has their own goals and ambitions, you can’t stop anyone. In the end, everyone has to develop,” said the Dutchman.
Lambiase is the third high-ranking Red Bull employee to be poached by McLaren: Previously, Rob Marshall moved to the Woking-based team as Chief Designer and Will Courtenay as Sports Director.
Lambiase will become Chief Racing Officer at the reigning world champion team and will support Team Principal Andrea Stella in a role at the racetrack.