Lambiase linked to senior role at McLaren after Red Bull exit

Lambiase was said to be linked to the position of team principal, but McLaren has denied this. A role as deputy team principal is also said not to be on the table. What is clear, however, is that he will take up a high-ranking position within the team.

GPblog has learned that the British outfit perhaps makes an announcement about its future today, with a potential departure of Andrea Stella reportedly not under consideration. Ferrari declined to comment on a possible move for Andrea Stella to the Scuderia.

His move had been in the air for some time, but the team principal role underlines the depth of McLaren’s confidence. In recent years, the team has already poached several key figures from Red Bull, including Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay, and is now extending that trend to the management level.

For Lambiase, it marks the next step after years at Red Bull Racing, where he became one of the team’s most crucial linchpins. The Briton has been Max Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016 and also serves as Head of Racing.

For Red Bull, it is another sensitive departure. The organization had already lost names such as Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Helmut Marko, while Christian Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies.

For Verstappen, a lot will change in the long run. With Lambiase’s departure, he loses not only his engineer but also a confidant with whom he achieved all his successes. The two had worked together since his promotion to the senior team and formed a long-standing, established duo within Red Bull.

Lambiase is contracted to the team through the end of 2027 and will make the move to McLaren thereafter.

After the rumour mill started spinning on Thursday morning, Red Bull were the first to release an official statement, with a short, three-paragraph press release announcing that Lambiase would leave the Austrian team after the 2027 season.

McLaren was then next to release an official statement, confirming GPblog's earlier news that he would be making the move to McLaren for the 2028 season.

The press release also stated that the British-Italian engineer would take up the role of Chief Racing Officer at the papaya-coloured team.