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Back in 2021, off the heels of his first world championship win, Max Verstappen claimed he would walk away if Gianpiero Lambiase couldn’t work with him.
Reports emerged today that Lambiase would leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2028, marking the end of what will at that point be a 14-year stint with Red Bull.
Since he joined the team in 2016, Max Verstappen has relied on Lambiase as his race engineer, with the two forging a strong bond with each other during their time together.
GP is joining McLaren! What does this mean for Verstappen and Red Bull?
The news comes from Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf
Many believe Lambiase is vital to Verstappen staying with Red Bull, and with him gone, there is nothing stopping the four-time world champion from leaving.
But it isn’t just speculation from outside forces. Max Verstappen himself said that he wouldn’t want to continue without Gianpiero Lambiase as his race engineer.
READ MORE: F1 fans convinced Max Verstappen is ‘definitely’ retiring as Gianpiero Lambiase agrees McLaren move
Max Verstappen admitted he would ‘only’ work with Gianpiero Lambiase in 2021
In the aftermath of his thrilling 2021 drivers’ championship win, Max Verstappen did an interview with Dutch outlet Ziggo Sport.
During the interview, he spoke about his fondness for working with Gianpiero Lambiase, noting that he wouldn’t work with any other race engineer if it were up to him.
“I have told him that I will only work with him. If he stops, I will also stop. It is unbelievable how we work together. Sometimes he can be strict towards me, but that is what I want.
“He should be able to tell me when I behave like a jerk, and I will do that to him, too. That is what I have always told him, and he can tell me over the radio.
“Lately, it has been going very well, as sometimes I have been trying to be an engineer, and he tried to be a driver. Helmut also likes how we communicate.”
READ MORE: Max Verstappen has already explained why losing Gianpiero Lambiase would hurt him so much
Will Max Verstappen keep his word as Gianperio Lambiase leaves Red Bull?
Gianpiero Lambiase expressed similar sentiment as Max Verstappen
In an interview with De Telegraaf in 2023, Lambiase expressed that he doesn’t expect Verstappen to retire if he were to leave Red Bull. However, he also admitted he wouldn’t try to replicate his success with Verstappen with another driver.
“First of all, no one is irreplaceable. And secondly, there’s no way that if I walked out the door tomorrow, Max’s F1 career would be over. But it’s nice that he says that and it shows the respect we have for each other.
“I don’t think it would be fair to any other driver if we tried to emulate what I’ve done with Max since May of 2016. I see this as something incredibly special and don’t think anything like it would happen again.”
It’s clear that both Verstappen and Lambiase hold each other in high regard. But with Lambiase set to leave Red Bull at the end of 2027, it could signal the end of Verstappen’s time with the team.
One might suggest that McLaren could sign Verstappen through Lambiase in 2028 or 2029, but as things stand, there is no word on how Verstappen feels about that prospect.
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