McLaren poaches Red Bull's top race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase

McLaren has pulled off a major coup by hiring Gianpiero 'GP' Lambiase, Max Verstappen's long-time and highly successful race engineer, from Red Bull Racing. Lambiase will join the Woking-based team as its Chief Racing Officer, taking over the leadership of the race team from Team Principal Andrea Stella, who currently handles both roles. While Red Bull states Lambiase will leave when his contract expires in 2028, McLaren's announcement that he will join "no later than 2028" suggests negotiations may be underway to secure his services sooner.

Why it matters:

This move represents a significant talent drain from the reigning world champions and a major strategic win for McLaren's ongoing revival. Lambiase is not just any engineer; he has been the tactical voice in Verstappen's ear for all four of his Drivers' Championships, making him one of the most coveted and experienced minds in the F1 paddock. His recruitment signals McLaren's aggressive intent to build a championship-winning operation by acquiring proven winners from the top team.

The details:

• Lambiase joined Red Bull in 2015 and became Verstappen's race engineer in 2016, forming one of the most successful driver-engineer partnerships in the sport's history.
• At McLaren, he will assume the newly formalized role of Chief Racing Officer, overseeing the entire race team and reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella. This allows Stella to focus more broadly on overall team strategy.
• McLaren's press release framed the hire as part of a continued strategy to attract "top talent," name-checking previous high-profile recruits from Red Bull like Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.
• A discrepancy exists in the announced timeline. Red Bull confirmed Lambiase will depart "in 2028," but McLaren's statement uses the phrase "no later than 2028," hinting at a potential negotiation to reduce his gardening leave period and bring him into the team earlier.

What's next:

The focus now shifts to the operational impact on both teams. For Red Bull, finding a new race engineer for Verstappen will be a critical and sensitive task, as their synergy has been a cornerstone of the team's dominance. For McLaren, integrating Lambiase's expertise with their current technical leadership is the next step. If they can successfully blend his race-winning experience with their recent performance surge, it could accelerate their path from consistent podium contender to genuine title challenger.