Red Bull have already decided on Max Verstappen’s new race engineer if Gianpiero Lambiase leaves

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Max Verstappen could be set for another major change at Red Bull in 2026 as Gianpiero Lambiase is in talks to leave the team.

The British-Italian engineer, affectionately known as ‘GP’, has worked with Verstappen throughout his Red Bull career. Joining the team in 2016, Lambiase has overseen all of the Dutchman’s successes in F1, helping him to four world championships.

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Verstappen has seen several key figures leave Red Bull over the past months, including chief engineer Adrian Newey, team principal Christian Horner and chief advisor Helmut Marko. Now, he could be set to lose Lambiase.

Lambiase is in talks with Aston Martin over a possible move in 2026. The Silverstone outfit want to have another big name on board, with the 45-year-old potentially in line to become their CEO.

Red Bull have already lined up Simon Rennie as Gianpiero Lambiase’s replacement

Red Bull are ‘very worried’ about losing Lambiase, due to the devastating effects it could have on Verstappen. The Dutchman has built an incredible relationship with his race engineer over the years, and a sudden change, especially ahead of a regulation change, could be damaging.

F1 fans think Aston Martin will target Verstappen if Lambiase joins the team. The Silverstone outfit have been keeping tabs on the 28-year-old in 2025, with Lawrence Stroll offering a mega contract to him.

It is not currently clear if Lambiase will leave Red Bull, but it is apparent that he will make a change to his schedule if he stays. Lambiase will not attend any races in 2026, meaning that Verstappen will likely have a new engineer regardless of the situation.

And it appears that Red Bull have already lined up his replacement. A report from La Gazzetta dello Sport states that if Lambiase leaves the team, Simon Rennie will take his place.

He has previously worked with Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull and also worked with Verstappen in 2025 in Austria and Belgium, as Lambiase missed those races for personal reasons.

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What has Max Verstappen said about working with Simon Rennie at Red Bull?

Working with Rennie will certainly be a shock for Verstappen, given how long he has worked with Lambiase and the success they have had together.

But the Dutchman has got on well with his stand-in engineer. Speaking to Motorsport.com at the Belgian GP, he admitted that working with Rennie was ‘very enjoyable’.

“With Simon, I mean, he has a lot of racing experience already and, of course, he’s been part of the team already for a very long time,” Verstappen explained to the media.

“Of course, the last few years [he’s] not anymore in a race engineer role, but he steps in and he’s immediately on it. So also again, very enjoyable to work with Simon.”