Red Bull Turns to Insider Hart to Replace Lambiase as Verstappen's Race Engineer

Red Bull has promoted performance engineer Tom Hart to eventually succeed GianPiero Lambiase as Max Verstappen's race engineer, opting for internal continuity over an outside hire. The move secures a trusted voice from Verstappen's side of the garage and blocks Hart's planned move to Williams as Alex Albon's race engineer.

Why it matters:

The bond between driver and race engineer is one of the most important in Formula 1, and Verstappen has relied heavily on Lambiase throughout his dominant championship campaigns. With Red Bull having faced months of speculation over senior departures, promoting Hart is both a practical and symbolic victory for stability at Milton Keynes. It also prevents a rival from acquiring deep institutional knowledge of the team's operations.

The details:

• Hart was reportedly set to join Williams as Alex Albon's race engineer before Red Bull intervened to keep him.
• Team principal Laurent Mekies recently hinted that several rumored departures would not materialize, comments now understood to reference Hart.
• After several seasons as Verstappen's performance engineer, Hart recently expanded his responsibilities across both cars, effectively preparing him for the step up.
• He is expected to formally take over at the start of 2027 but will deputize for Lambiase at select events during the second half of this season.
• Hart recently rehearsed the race engineer role during Isack Hadjar's filming day at Silverstone.
• The promotion stands regardless of Verstappen's future; Hart will remain in the seat even if the driver line-up changes.

What's next:

Lambiase is bound for McLaren as chief racing officer in 2028 and is expected to begin gardening leave before then. Meanwhile, chief engineer Paul Monaghan remains absent from the garage, continuing to fuel rumors of a senior move to Cadillac. Locking in Hart quiets the exodus narrative and gives Verstappen a familiar face on the pit wall as Red Bull prepares for its 2027 campaign.