Max Verstappen's Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase set to join McLaren in 2028 in shock move having turned down Aston Martin
Max Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in a shock move; Sky Sports News understands Lambiase will become head of race engineering at McLaren, having previously turned down an offer from Aston Martin
Thursday 9 April 2026 10:57, UK
Max Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren from 2028 in a shock move, Sky Sports News understands.
Verstappen has previously stated he would walk away from F1 if Lambiase is not his race engineer, so the change could be critical to the four-time world champion's own future.
Lambiase, who would remain at Red Bull until he is allowed to join McLaren, is the only race engineer Verstappen has had since he joined Red Bull in 2016.
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Sky Sports News understands Lambiase will become head of race engineering at McLaren and, according to senior figures, current team principal Andrea Stella's position will be unaffected.
Stella joined McLaren from Ferrari in 2015, becoming team principal in 2023 and has led the team to consecutive constructors' titles in the last two seasons.
Lambiase recently turned down an offer from Aston Martin to be their team principal but McLaren's offer is more attractive to the 45-year-old.
Red Bull and McLaren have declined to comment.
The move will only add to question marks about Verstappen's future in the sport after his criticism over F1's 2026 regulations.
Verstappen said at the last F1 race in Japan that he is considering walking away from the sport at the end of this season, despite having a Red Bull contract until 2028.
Lambiase is the latest key Red Bull figure to join McLaren after Rob Marshall joined the Woking-based outfit as a technical director in 2024 and Will Courtenay joined this year as sporting director.
Legendary designer Adrian Newey left Red Bull to join Aston Martin last year, while long-time team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko also departed.
What has Verstappen said about Lambiase in the past?
Verstappen and Lambiase's relationship is described by many as a marriage with the pair bluntly talking to each other on the radio, often leading to some questioning the dynamic.
However, it is a relationship Verstappen has consistently praised due to the straightforwardness and clear communication between the duo.
After winning his first F1 drivers' title in 2021, Verstappen revealed he would no longer drive in F1 if Lambiase was not his engineer.
"I have said to him I only work with him. As soon as he stops, I stop too," he told Ziggo Sport.
"Of course, we can be pretty strict with each other sometimes, but I want that too. He has to tell me when I'm being a jerk and I have to tell him. I always told him that."
Verstappen's radio has sometimes been seen as confrontational, particularly when he's unhappy with the car or a decision from the team but he defended his approach, insisting the language is important.
"That's how we operate," he told Sky Sports F1 at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix after a seemingly heated radio exchange with Lambiase during the race weekend.
"I think we know each other very well from all the years we have been working together."
Lambiase has been Red Bull's head of racing since the start of 2025 after Jonathan Wheatley left the team, putting him only behind team principal Laurent Mekies and technical director Pierre Wache in the hierarchy.
However, his main responsibility remains being Verstappen's race engineer and it's a role
"That's the thing, you have chats with him outside the track - what you hear on the broadcast, that's not necessarily Max, that's him with the adrenaline at the time.
"As much as he has this bravado, he will adsorb every piece of information that goes through his ears and that's his real strength. We can always rely on him in the heat of the moment to do the right thing."
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