Red Bull confirms Lambiase's 2028 exit, McLaren move

Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer and Red Bull's head of racing, GianPiero 'GP' Lambiase, will leave the team when his contract expires in 2028, with McLaren confirming his arrival as their new Chief Racing Officer. The move ends one of the most successful and recognizable driver-engineer partnerships in modern F1 history, sparking immediate questions about its impact on Verstappen and the evolving technical landscape of the sport.

Why it matters:

Lambiase has been the strategic voice in Verstappen's ear since his first Red Bull race in 2016, a cornerstone partnership during the driver's four championship-winning campaigns. His departure, while years away, represents a significant behind-the-scenes shift for the dominant team and marks another high-profile defection from Red Bull to a resurgent McLaren. The move underscores the intense off-track talent war in F1, where personnel are as crucial as car development.

The details:

• Red Bull officially confirmed Lambiase's planned departure on Thursday, following initial reports from Dutch media. McLaren simultaneously announced he would join them "no later than 2028."
• At McLaren, Lambiase will take on the newly created role of Chief Racing Officer, a position designed to support Team Principal Andrea Stella by overseeing racing operations and strategy.
• McLaren's statement framed the hire as part of a strategic vision, linking it to previous high-profile signings from Red Bull like Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.
• The Verstappen-Lambiase partnership is famed for its direct, sometimes terse, and often humorous radio exchanges, which have become fan favorites and highlighted their unique, deeply trusting working relationship.

The big picture:

This is the latest in a series of key technical personnel moves from Red Bull to McLaren, building the latter's technical department into a formidable operation. While Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull through 2028—coinciding with Lambiase's exit—the long-term erosion of his trusted inner circle inevitably fuels speculation about his own future loyalties. For McLaren, securing a figure of Lambiase's experience and proven success is a major coup, signaling their ambition to convert recent on-track progress into a sustained championship challenge.

What's next:

The immediate focus remains on the current season, with the Lambiase-Verstappen partnership continuing for several more years. However, the 2028 horizon now looms large for Red Bull, who must plan for a future without a key architect of their race-day success. For McLaren, the announcement is a powerful statement of long-term intent, proving their ability to attract top-tier talent as they build towards the next major regulation change in 2026.