Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull to join McLaren at the end of his contract

The team Red Bull The team officially announced on Thursday, April 9, 2026, the planned departure of Gianpiero Lambiase in 2028, when his current contract expires. A key figure in the Austrian team's recent successes, the British engineer will continue in his role until then.

Having joined the Milton Keynes-based team in 2015, "GP" established himself as one of the key figures in the Red Bull project. Since 2016, he has been best known as the race engineer for Max Verstappenwith whom he built a relationship that was as demanding as it was effective, contributing significantly to the Dutchman's four world titles.

Beyond his role on the pit wall, Lambiase also holds the position of competition director, actively participating in the structuring and overall performance of the team in recent seasons.

In its press release, Red Bull emphasizes the importance of continuing this momentum until 2028. Lambiase and the team thus remain " fully committed "to further enrich an already impressive list of achievements. This departure, anticipated but now official, will mark the end of a major cycle for Red Bull, which has already seen the departures of Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko in recent years."

The future of the Italian-born engineer is already known since McLaren He then announced his arrival as Director of Competition. The team is delighted to welcome Gianpiero Lambiase at the end of his current contract, no later than 2028. "The Woking-based team stated this. This role will complement that of Andrea Stella, whose role as team principal remains unchanged.

The impending departure of Lambiase casts further doubt on the future of Max Verstappen, who has been letting slip his dissatisfaction with the new 2026 regulation cars since the beginning of the year.

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