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Jos Verstappen has revealed that Max Verstappen told Gianpiero Lambiase to “seize” his move to McLaren, but he doubts that his son will also now look to leave Red Bull.
Red Bull and McLaren announced on Thursday that Lambiase will move from Milton Keynes to Woking by at least 2028, after agreeing to take up a senior position under Andrea Stella. Lambiase will adopt the role of chief racing officer for McLaren and oversee their race team.
Stella currently fulfils the chief racing officer role at McLaren in addition to being their team principal. And while it was also initially claimed that Stella has already agreed to join Ferrari, McLaren stressed when announcing Lambiase’s signing that he will be working under Stella.
It is also understood that Stella partly instigated McLaren’s pursuit of Lambiase, as he thinks the British-Italian engineer can ease some of the strain he faces during an F1 race weekend. Lambiase has worked in F1 since 2005, including working at Red Bull since the 2015 season.
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Jos Verstappen doubts Gianpiero Lambiase’s exit alone will see Max Verstappen leave Red Bull
Lambiase initially joined Red Bull as Daniil Kvyat’s race engineer, before he continued in that role when Max Verstappen graduated from Toro Rosso in 2016. Red Bull also gave Lambiase the title of head of racing before the 2025 F1 season, after Jonathan Wheatley left the team.
READ MORE: All to know about Max Verstappen’s F1 race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase
Max Verstappen and Lambiase have built a very close relationship over the past decade and won the F1 drivers’ championship four times together. But Jos Verstappen notes that he and Max told Lambiase to seize a move to McLaren, as it is a big opportunity for the 45-year-old.
“We’ve known about it for a while, and we also knew when it would happen,” Verstappen told Racexpress. “We still have one and a half to two years to work with him.
“It is a huge opportunity for him. We understand that, and we also told him that he had to seize this opportunity with both hands. It is up to Red Bull to replace him.”
Max Verstappen once vowed to leave Red Bull if Lambiase ever quit, as he said after winning the 2021 drivers’ title: “If he stops, I will also stop.” Yet Jos Verstappen does not believe that Max will look to leave Red Bull owing to Lambiase’s departure, but the exit door is still open.
He added: “Things have changed since then, especially after four championships, you have achieved a lot together. That last part is up to Max, but I think he’s going to continue.”
Jos Verstappen doubts Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull because of Gianpiero Lambiase’s departure like he vowed in 2021 – Who do you think should replace GP?
Max Verstappen’s future in F1 has been up for debate in recent weeks, as he has threatened to retire due to his hatred for the new engine regulations. Verstappen claimed in Japan that he must “figure out” his future in F1, and he needs to decide whether it is “worth it” to stay.
It is highly likely based on Verstappen calling the Red Bull RB22 “undriveable” in Japan, plus teammate Isack Hadjar calling the RB22’s chassis “terrible”, that the Dutchman will gain the right to leave Red Bull this year. He has several release clauses in his contract through 2028.
Verstappen only has to reach the summer break in August sitting outside the top two in the drivers’ standings to then be able to trigger an exit clause in his contract. It is believed that Verstappen will have from August to October to use his release clause, should he intend to.
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