Exclusive: All the ins and outs of Lambiase's move to McLaren

For Verstappen, the news of Lambiase’s impending departure did not come as a surprise. After GPblog was the first to report in December about McLaren’s interest in Lambiase, the four-time world champion was kept continuously informed of developments.

Verstappen is happy for his mate to make the switch, this website understands. From a financial perspective, and certainly also because of the promotion the Brit is making. While the plan is for Lambiase to be announced as Head of Race Engineering—similar to the role he currently holds at Red Bull Racing.

Ultimately, the intention is for Verstappen’s race engineer to move up into the team principal position. GPblog understands that Lambiase knows another job is on the horizon. Without such a commitment, he would not have made the move to McLaren.

With Andrea Stella, McLaren currently has a team principal in place. The Italian still has a multi-year contract with the British team. Bearing in mind what Lambiase has been told, McLaren is therefore anticipating that Stella will depart at some point. It’s speculation, but does Stella want to return to Italy after 2027? Or will a dream job at Ferrari come along?

In any case, McLaren already has his successor in-house. Lambiase can, incidentally, start working with the Brits right at the beginning of the 2028 season. His contract with Red Bull Racing runs until the end of 2027, after which he will not have to observe a gardening leave (being required to sit at home for a period), according to GPblog.