Verstappen and Red Bull finally get good news thanks to key figure staying put

Back in 2024, Verstappen emphasised how crucial it was to keep the team together – the team with which he had achieved so much successes and, above all, had so much fun. He hoped it would stay intact for a long time.

However, things turned out differently. Early in 2024, the turmoil surrounding Christian Horner began, and until his dismissal in mid-2025, the situation remained unsettled for a long time. Despite a world title for Verstappen in 2024, several key personnel within the team walked away.

The most high-profile being designer Adrian Newey, but the loss of Jonathan Wheatley was equally significant. He might well have been the perfect successor to Horner, but Wheatley is now with rivals, Audi. Also, there was the departure of strategist Will Courtenay to McLaren.

In 2026, Verstappen will again lose many of the people from his trusted inner circle. Of the four engineers on his side of the garage, three are leaving. David Mart has already moved to Audi and Michael Manning has stepped away. Tom Hart will still be working for Verstappen’s team in 2026 but will switch to Williams in 2027.

By retaining Lambiase, perhaps the most important figure of all stays on for Verstappen. Verstappen has previously stated that he would quit F1 if Lambiase were to leave. Whether it would truly come to that remains to be seen, of course, but it shows how close the two men are.

Lambiase has made a conscious choice to remain at Red Bull. Yes, he has a contract with Red Bull Racing through 2027, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has to stay. Courtenay also left Red Bull, but he simply ran out his contract until early 2026 before he could start at McLaren.

Lambiase had other options. Williams and especially Aston Martin and McLaren were strongly linked with the race engineer, but for now he has decided against a move.

After numerous reports of people leaving Red Bull, this is finally some good news for the former world champion and Red Bull.