McLaren CEO Zak Brown excited by shock signing of Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase

McLaren has pulled off a major coup by securing the services of Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who will join the team as Chief Racing Officer when his Red Bull contract ends, no later than 2028. The move continues McLaren's aggressive recruitment drive following its recent championship successes and deals a significant blow to Red Bull's technical leadership.

Why it matters:

Lambiase is not just a key engineer but a central pillar of Red Bull's dominant era, having been Verstappen's strategic voice for four world titles. His defection to a direct competitor underscores a dramatic power shift, weakening Red Bull's core operational strength while supercharging a McLaren team already on a steep upward trajectory. This represents a critical talent transfer that could reshape team competitiveness for the next regulatory era.

The details:

• McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed the signing, stating Lambiase will report to Team Principal Andrea Stella and "join an incredible team."
• Lambiase holds a unique dual role at Red Bull as both Head of Racing and Verstappen's race engineer, a partnership that has yielded 71 Grand Prix victories since 2016.
• The 45-year-old was highly sought after, with Aston Martin having made a substantial approach for a team principal role in 2025 and Williams also expressing interest.
• His departure accelerates a worrying talent drain from Red Bull, which has seen a series of high-profile exits in recent years.

Between the lines:

McLaren's signing is a masterstroke in long-term planning. By creating a dedicated Chief Racing Officer role—previously handled by Stella alongside his principal duties—McLaren is strategically deepening its technical leadership bench. This allows Stella to focus on broader team strategy while leveraging Lambiase's unparalleled race-day experience and strategic acumen. For Red Bull, losing the engineer synonymous with Verstappen's success is a profound symbolic and practical blow, following the earlier departures of Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, and others, raising questions about the team's internal stability post-Christian Horner.

What's next:

Lambiase will see out his Red Bull contract, which runs until the end of the 2027 season at the latest, creating an awkward 'lame-duck' period where he remains privy to the team's most sensitive technical and strategic information. His eventual arrival at McLaren in 2028 is timed to align with the team's ongoing development push and potentially with the next major regulation cycle, positioning McLaren with top-tier operational talent for its championship defense and future campaigns.