Gianpiero Lambiase to Join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer in 2028
Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's race engineer and Red Bull's Head of Racing, will leave the team in 2028 to join McLaren in the newly defined role of Chief Racing Officer. The move continues McLaren's aggressive recruitment from its rival and will see one of F1's most iconic driver-engineer partnerships come to an end after more than a decade of success.
Gianpiero 'GP' Lambiase, Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer and a pivotal figure in Red Bull's success, will leave the team in 2028 to take on a senior leadership role at McLaren. Red Bull confirmed his planned departure at the end of his current contract, while McLaren announced he will join as Chief Racing Officer, a move that continues the Woking-based team's strategic raid on its rival's top talent.
Why it matters:
Lambiase's move signals a significant shift in the F1 personnel landscape, marking the end of one of the sport's most successful driver-engineer partnerships. For McLaren, securing a key operational brain from the dominant team is a major coup in its long-term plan to build a championship-winning structure. For Red Bull, it represents the loss of a core trackside leader as it navigates a period of internal transition and intense competition.
The details:
- Red Bull issued a statement confirming Lambiase will leave when his contract expires in 2028, ending a tenure that began in 2015. He will continue as Head of Racing and Verstappen's race engineer until his departure.
- McLaren simultaneously announced Lambiase will join as Chief Racing Officer, reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella. The role involves overall leadership of the race team, duties currently managed by Stella himself.
- The appointment is the latest in a series of high-profile hires from Red Bull, following the earlier arrivals of former Chief Engineering Officer Rob Marshall and aerodynamics expert Will Courtenay.
- Lambiase's partnership with Verstappen, which began with the driver's promotion to Red Bull in 2016, has been fundamental to securing three drivers' championships and establishing the team's recent era of dominance.
What's next:
The immediate focus for all parties is the remainder of Lambiase's contract at Red Bull, where both sides have committed to continuing their successful collaboration. His eventual move to McLaren in 2028 is designed to provide long-term stability and strengthen the team's operational hierarchy, allowing Stella to focus more broadly on strategic leadership. This multi-year lead time gives Red Bull a long runway to plan for his succession, a critical process for maintaining the seamless operation of Verstappen's side of the garage.