Max Verstappen ally could be given new Red Bull role after Jonathan Wheatley’s move to Audi

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Red Bull Racing know that the ten race weekends after the summer break are critical when it comes to not only winning both championships this season but asserting themselves as Formula 1’s strongest outfit despite a turbulent campaign.

Sergio Perez’s future with the team has been a talking point for months despite signing a new contract recently and Red Bull have stuck by the Mexican for now.

Team principal Christian Horner also needs to make sure the team are in a strong enough position to retain Max Verstappen with Mercedes continuing to keep a seat open in their line-up for 2025.

Unfortunately, key staff members within the Red Bull set-up continue to leave as they make their way to their rivals up and down the paddock.

Rob Marshall’s influence at McLaren is hard to ignore after their upturn in form over the past 12 months.

It’s already been announced that Adrian Newey will be departing before the start of the 2025 season after nearly 20 years with the team.

Given a new set of regulations are on the horizon in F1, losing a designer of Newey’s calibre is a huge blow.

Red Bull then announced on Thursday that sporting director Jonathan Wheatley would be moving to Audi in time for their entry to the Formula 1 grid to become their new team principal.

A report from Autosport has shared that Red Bull intend to promote from within to replace Wheatley which could impact Verstappen.

It’s believed that his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase could take on some of the responsibilities currently under Wheatley’s jurisdiction once he leaves the team.

With members of Verstappen’s camp keen for him to depart Red Bull, it’ll be interesting to see how they feel about another senior figure within the organisation deciding to move on.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase could receive new role at Red Bull

Wheatley has been part of the Red Bull set-up since 2006 when he signed from Benetton.

In that time, he’s helped oversee countless Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships and was on the radio with Michael Masi during the infamous final laps of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, Red Bull completely blindsided Audi by announcing Wheatley’s departure despite the German manufacturer knowing he was going to be joining the team after a period of gardening leave.

The report from Autosport has now shared that Red Bull are thinking about splitting the position currently held by Wheatley.

This would see Lambiase potentially promoted to take on some of his responsibilities while also creating a new team manager position.

Their job would be to take part in negotiations with the FIA and that role is also expected to be taken by someone within the team.

Red Bull are said to see the departure of some high-paid staff as an ‘evolution’ although the growing number of senior figures deciding to leave the team is becoming a worrying trend.

READ MORE: Who is Jonathan Wheatley? Everything you need to know about Sauber/Audi’s new team principal

Gianpiero Lambiase has endured tough moments with Max Verstappen this season

Lambiase and Verstappen have worked closely together for years and the race engineer is exceptional at absorbing the rather harsh words the Dutch driver has for the team over the radio during race weekends.

Verstappen was particularly frustrated during the Hungarian Grand Prix when a far-from-ideal strategy saw him undercut during both sets of pit stops.

After the race, Verstappen and Lambiase had talks to clear the air after their messages in Hungary and things were back to normal once again in Belgium.

Martin Brundle has previously been critical of how Red Bull respond to Verstappen on the radio, although this also includes the messages sent by Horner and in particular what was said after his collision with Lando Norris in Austria.

Verstappen may have to get used to a new race engineer as it’s unclear whether Lambiase would continue in his role as Verstappen’s go-to man on the radio should he receive a promotion after Wheatley’s exit.