Coulthard casts fresh doubt on Lambiase remaining at Red Bull for 2027

As is now widely known, the Italian-born engineer will leave the Milton Keynes outfit at the end of next year to join McLaren as chief racing officer.

However, there is still some time to run before then, a situation that will inevitably have an impact on Red Bull’s 2027 season, given they will have someone in-house who could potentially carry key know-how over to a rival team’s 2028 project.

That is something that has raised doubts for Coulthard, speaking on the Up to Speed podcast: "We expect him to still continue in that contract. But of course, one of the tricky moments for Red Bull is, he can't walk out of the factory with a laptop with all the data at the end of the year, but what's in your mind you're allowed to take with you?

Coulthard reckons such a situation would slowly strain the relationship and force both sides into an uneasy compromise, with McLaren likely pushing for Red Bull to release GP from his contract ahead of time and waive his salary so he can join early, even though there would be little reason for Red Bull to strengthen a direct rival.

Ralf Schumacher believes Verstappen could reconsider his future following the departure of race engineer GianPiero Lambiase.

In his view, Verstappen may take a different direction next year, potentially even leaving Red Bull if he loses faith in the team. The Dutchman has repeatedly made clear that he finds Formula 1 increasingly unexciting, which could also push him towards stepping away from the sport altogether.

Another scenario, according to Schumacher, would see Verstappen move to McLaren alongside his trusted engineer. Such a switch could trigger wider movement in the driver market, with Oscar Piastri potentially heading the other way to Red Bull – a type of deal Formula 1 has seen in the past.