What’s going on with Gianpiero Lambiase and will he leave Red Bull?

There has been much speculation in the wake of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix about Gianpiero Lambiase’s future at Red Bull.

Lambiase was very emotional in the aftermath of Sunday’s season finale, in which his driver Max Verstappen lost the F1 title by two points, and was seen crying with his head in his hands on the pit wall.

The 45-year-old British-Italian, who serves as Red Bull’s head of racing as well as being Verstappen’s race engineer, was consoled by several teammates including the outgoing Helmut Marko.

"You can be proud of that mate, hold your head up high,” Lambiase told Verstappen over team radio after the race.

In response, Verstappen said: "We showed them one final time who's boss.

"Congratulations guys what a comeback in that second half of the season. We can be really really proud of that, don't be too disappointed. I'm definitely not disappointed, I'm really proud of everyone to never give up.

"Keep pushing, never give up believing in making a success again even when it's really difficult so thank you very much everyone. And thank you to Honda for all these years together and all these amazing successes we've had. We definitely closed it in style, so thank you very much for that.”

Lambiase’s emotional reaction, and the exchange with Verstappen, promoted fans to speculate whether it could be his final race with Red Bull.

Red Bull have undergone a series of organisational changes in recent months following the sacking of former team principal and CEO Christian Horner.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Marko would also be stepping down from his role as motorsport advisor after 20 years at the team.

Lambiase set to stay for 2026

But Lambiase is set to remain at Red Bull and continue as Verstappen’s race engineer in 2026, according to ESPN.

Lambiase missed two races this year for personal reasons, with Simon Rennie stepping in to engineer Verstappen in Austria and Belgium.

Dutch journalist Jacky Martens claimed that Lambiase was also meant to be absent in Qatar but changed his plans and travelled to the penultimate round of the season in the Middle East because Verstappen still had a chance of becoming world champion.

That would perhaps go some way in explaining Lambiase’s visible emotions after the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, particularly given how close Verstappen’s title defeat was at the end of a gruelling 24-round campaign.

"It's been an emotional year. Forget about the results this year. I also don't want to go too much into detail, but it's been tough. But I'm very happy to be able to work with someone that passionate,” Verstappen said in the post-race FIA press conference.

"Of course, he is my race engineer, but I see him as my friend. We have lived through so many emotional things together and fantastic achievements. I'm sure he was a bit emotional after the flag.

“So, I'm really looking forward to leaving here and catching up with him because it's not been easy at times for him. I'm just very proud to be able to work with someone that good. A proper example of someone that never gave up this season, even through the difficult times."