Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Red Bull have been sent a stern warning that Gianpiero Lambiase could tell McLaren their Formula 1 secrets.
Last week, it was confirmed that Lambiase will be leaving Red Bull in 2028 to join rivals McLaren.
The 45-year-old, who is currently Max Verstappen’s race engineer, is set to become McLaren’s Chief Racing Officer and will report to team principal Andrea Stella.
Lambiase is now the latest addition to Red Bull’s ever-growing list of high-profile departures, joining the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Rob Marshall and Jonathan Wheatley.
Who is the greater driver, Sebastian Vettel or Max Verstappen?
Two Red Bull greats… One massive decision 👀
Red Bull sent warning about keeping Gianpiero Lambiase until 2028
Although Lambiase is staying with Red Bull until 2028, Red Bull have been urged to think about cutting ties early.
Speaking on the latest episode of The RacingNews365 Podcast, Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel claimed that Red Bull should think about replacing Lambiase to prevent him from taking important information to McLaren.
He said: “My gut feeling tells me the sooner you do these kinds of things, the better it is for the whole situation.
“Because then, you will part ways sooner, you are going to speed up the process. So this could go faster than you think.
Are Red Bull’s days as a top F1 team coming to an end?
“As a team, you don’t want him to have all the information, because you are going to find out so many new things. I mean, why would you make someone better if he is going to a competitor?”
Meanwhile, journalist Ruud Dimmers added: “As Tom said, if you know you are getting a divorce, being together isn’t that nice anymore. I mean, the trust is gone, the connection is gone.”
READ MORE: Karun Chandhok pinpoints why Red Bull will be more ‘worried’ about Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move
Gianpiero Lambiase sees a better future away from Red Bull
According to The Race journalist Jon Noble, Lambiase and McLaren had reached an agreement before the 2026 F1 season began.
In addition, Noble noted that Lambiase sees a better future away from Red Bull.
He said: “From what I understand, the deal was reached before the start of the season, an agreement at least. He’s obviously been pondering things over the winter; that’s why Aston Martin had been sniffing around.
“This was independent, but as Max’s dislike of the new rules became very clear during pre-season testing, his unhappiness about things at the start of this season. I think you can see the direction of travel.
“So while there’s not one moment that said this is where they both decided they’re out, I think you can see that Lambiase sees a better future outside of Red Bull and doesn’t feel that there are any requirements to fulfil and stay for Max because potentially Max isn’t going to be there either.”
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
