Max Verstappen’s race engineer set to head to McLaren

Red Bull’s Gianpiero Lambiase, the long-time race engineer of Max Verstappen, is set to leave Red Bull Racing in 2028 and will join British Formula One team McLaren as their Chief Racing Officer.

Lambiase started his F1 career back in 2005 with Jordan and stayed with the team through their transition to Midland, Spyker, and Force India. 2010 was the first time he became a race engineer, for Vitantonio Liuzzi. He moved to Red Bull Racing in 2015 and served as Daniil Kvyat’s race engineer.

When Kvyat was replaced by Verstappen in 2016, Lambiase remained in his role. In 2022, he took up the role of Head of Race Engineering whilst continuing to be Verstappen’s race engineer. In 2024, he became Red Bull’s Head of Racing.

Once Lambiase’s contract ends at the end of 2027, he will head to McLaren and report directly to their team principal, Andrea Stella.

Red Bull released the following statement on the matter:

“Oracle Red Bull Racing confirms that Gianpiero Lambiase will leave the team in 2028, when his current contract expires. ‘GP’ is a valued member of the team, which he joined in 2015. Until his planned departure, ‘GP’ continues in his roles as Head of Racing and as Race Engineer to Max Verstappen. The team and he are fully committed to add more success to our strong track record together.”

McLaren’s statement, meanwhile, read as follows:

“McLaren Racing is pleased to announce that Gianpiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting into Team Principal, Andrea Stella. The role of the Chief Racing Officer already exists within the team’s structure with overall leadership of the race team. These duties are currently managed by Andrea Stella in addition to his role as Team Principal. Lambiase is the latest hire designed to strengthen and support the talent pool that exists at McLaren Mastercard, while also reaffirming the team’s long-term commitment to confirming its position as a Championship-winning team. 

“The team’s ability to attract and secure top talent, like Lambiase, and previously Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay, alongside the retention and promotion of highly-talented people already within the team, is a testament to the strategic vision and culture that are integrally embodied in the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, who are also both on long-term contracts. The team look forward to welcoming Gianpiero Lambiase when his existing contract ends, no later than 2028.”