McLaren pushing to accelerate Lambiase's Red Bull exit

McLaren is pushing to accelerate Gianpiero Lambiase's exit from Red Bull, with talks underway to bring the highly-rated race engineer to Woking earlier than originally planned. The move could leave Max Verstappen without his trusted engineer for up to three race weekends in 2026.

Why it matters:

Lambiase has been central to Verstappen's championship success, serving as both race engineer and head of racing. His early arrival at McLaren would strengthen the team's technical leadership as it chases Red Bull at the front of the grid, while forcing Red Bull to accelerate its own succession plans.

The details:

• It was confirmed earlier this year that Lambiase will join McLaren as chief racing officer under Andrea Stella, with a move no later than 2028.
• However, De Telegraaf reports McLaren is pushing to shorten his gardening leave, with Zak Brown holding discussions with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.
• The expectation now is that Lambiase will no longer be in Red Bull employment by 2027.
• Verstappen's new engineer: Tom Hart is being prepared to step in as Verstappen's permanent race engineer, and will take full charge of three race weekends in 2026 — Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas.
• Hart had his first outing alongside Verstappen during a practice session at Monza.
• Red Bull's response: The team has already signed Tom McCullough from Aston Martin as the new head of racing, filling the management void left by Lambiase.

What's next:

If the talks succeed, Lambiase could be in place at McLaren well before 2027, giving the team a major boost in its bid to close the gap to the front. For Verstappen, the transition to Hart will be a key storyline to watch as Red Bull reshapes its engineering structure.