Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Gianpiero Lambiase leaving Red Bull for McLaren could help the Papaya Orange land Max Verstappen in the future.
Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in 2028, marking the end of his tenure with the team after joining in 2015.
Lambiase has served as Max Verstappen’s race engineer for his entire stint at Red Bull, helping the driver earn four world championships between 2021 to 2024.
GP is joining McLaren! What does this mean for Verstappen and Red Bull?
The news comes from Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf
Lambiase has been described as vital to Verstappen, with the pair forging a close bond with each other during their time together.
However, with Gianpiero Lambiase now set to join McLaren in 2028, he could help the Papaya Orange land Max Verstappen in the future.
READ MORE: F1 fans convinced Max Verstappen is ‘definitely’ retiring as Gianpiero Lambiase agrees McLaren move
Max Verstappen could be lured to McLaren by Gianpiero Lambiase
The expectation for Gianpiero Lambiase in McLaren is to become the team principal once Andrea Stella leaves the team.
Stella is expected to join Ferrari in the future, with reports suggesting Lambiase’s signing was decided based on this expectation.
What’s interesting to note is that Lambiase isn’t going to be the team principal upon arrival. Rather, he is expected to take over for Stella in the 2029 season.
Interestingly, Max Verstappen’s current Red Bull contract runs till 2028. If he chooses to see out his contract with Red Bull, he would be available to join McLaren by the time Lambiase is promoted.
What adds fuel to this fire is the fact that both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s contracts also run till 2028, suggesting that McLaren could replace either of the two drivers with Verstappen.
On top of that, McLaren are yet to offer Norris a contract extension since he won the world championship last year.
If McLaren are able to secure Verstappen for the 2029 season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them move on from Norris in favour of Piastri, who is younger and has shown the same potential over the last few years.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri has a perfect opportunity to become the main man at Red Bull if Max Verstappen leaves
It sounds like Andrea Stella could leave McLaren! How big a blow would this be?
Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf broke the story
Max Verstappen’s future even more unclear after Gianpiero Lambiase departure
The future of Max Verstappen has been the subject of intense speculation over the last few weeks, as Verstappen openly contemplated retirement after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Even though most of Verstappen’s frustration boils down to a desire for pure racing and a disdain for the new regulations, Red Bull’s failure to deliver a strong car has not helped matters.
Verstappen feels let down by Pierre Wache’s work on the RB22, as the chassis has become the main pain point for the team during their disappointing start to the 2026 season.
Given these issues and the departure of Lambiase, Verstappen could be nudged further in the direction of retirement, as his issues with Red Bull continue to get compounded.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
