Karun Chandhok pinpoints why Red Bull will be more ‘worried’ about Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move

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Gianpiero Lambiase’s proposed switch to Red Bull’s rivals, McLaren, for 2028 has turned a lot of heads inside the F1 paddock, leading Karun Chandhok to highlight some concerns that the Austrian constructor may have following the Briton’s exit.

The move is the latest in a string of key personnel who have left Red Bull over the last two years, which has seemingly had an effect on the on-track performances of the previously dominant Formula 1 team.

Christian Horner’s exit was arguably the most high-profile change to the Red Bull front office, which was preceded by departures from crucial players in the background, such as Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley.

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One former Red Bull mechanic believes that chief strategist Hannah Schmitz could be the next Red Bull member to join the exodus, further fuelling the sentiments of Red Bull becoming a sinking ship due to the mass departure of such key figures.

• READ MORE: Alex Brundle compares Gianpiero Lambiase joining McLaren to Lewis Hamilton signing with Ferrari

Karun Chandhok explains why Red Bull should be more ‘worried’ about Gianpiero Lambiase’s exit

During a conversation with David Croft and Simon Lazenby on The F1 Show podcast, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok offered his thoughts on the difficulties that Red Bull may experience in the absence of Lambiase at the team.

More specifically, Chandhok thinks that the Austrian constructor may fall foul of losing some more key personnel upon the British engineer’s switch to Woking, due to the possibility of Lambiase poaching some of his allies in Milton Keynes.

After noting the cultural shift that Red Bull have experienced since Christian Horner departed from the set-up, Chandhok said, “There’s a big job there for Laurent Mekies and the ownership from Red Bull Austria to figure out how they’re going to stop this, and how they make themselves attractive.

“Right now, you want to attract the people from Mercedes; they’re the ones winning. I think one of the things that they’ve got to be worried about is that good people attract other good people.

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“How long before GP starts calling the other 20 people who are sitting in that engineering office and saying, ‘Hey, you know what? This place down at Woking, this is a really nice place to work. How do you fancy coming down here?’

“All of a sudden, how long before that core group starts to break up? And we’ve seen it so many times that Adrian Newey went from team to team to team and dragged good people. Ross Brawn did the same.

“I think that’s something Red Bull really need to be worried about, this thing of they need a big name signing, not just for the skill set that that person can bring, but the people that they will attract.”

• READ MORE: McLaren have already made Red Bull signing that ‘hurts’ even more than Gianpiero Lambiase exit

David Croft thinks Red Bull ‘could do’ with a big-name signing ahead of Gianpiero Lambiase’s future exit

Croft also gave his thoughts on the current exodus gripping the Milton Keynes-based F1 outfit, echoing Chandhok’s sentiments regarding the calibre of job that Mekies currently has on his hands to rebuild Red Bull.

After theorising on whether decisions are now being made by Red Bull Racing’s parent company in Austria rather than at the factory, he said, “It’s not people deserting a sinking ship, but it’s people thinking that their success in their careers can lie elsewhere outside of Milton Keynes.

“For many, many years, that was never the case. People were loyal to Red Bull, loyal to Christian Horner, and loyal to the overall game of winning championships.

“Red Bull have not always been the most successful team on the grid. It’s peaks and troughs. And at the moment, they’re heading towards a bit of a trough and need to recruit. They could do with a big name signing, but I don’t know who that will be.”