Red Bull names Aston Martin F1 engineer as Gianpiero Lambiase replacement
Red Bull has appointed the effective successor to Gianpiero Lambiase.
Red Bull has confirmed it has recruited long-serving Aston Martin Formula 1 engineer Tom McCullough as its future head of racing.
McCullough will effectively replace the outgoing Gianpiero Lambiase as Red Bull's new head of race engineering.
The 50-year-old Briton will start work in his new role with Red Bull in early 2027.
"We're delighted to welcome Tom to the team at the beginning of 2027 and look forward to the wealth of experience and expertise he will bring to the role," a Red Bull statement read.
Lambiase, who is also four-time world champion Max Verstappen's race engineer, is set to move to rivals McLaren in 2028 at the latest.
His replacement, McCullough, has spent more than a decade working at Aston Martin through the Silverstone-based outfit's various guises - including Force India and Racing Point.
McCullough focused on trackside performance before he was moved away from the F1 project into a wider arm of the Aston Martin company as part of a senior leadership reshuffle at the start of the 2025 season.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he was working as performance director for Aston Martin Performance Technologies.
Lambiase was promoted to his current role of head of racing in October 2024.
McLaren has hinted at the possibility of bringing Lambiase to the team earlier than originally stated.
“We know how this game works,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said in May. “At some point it’ll be probably uncomfortable, having someone that you know is going to a rival team.
“I know my general view is if someone wants to move on, you need to do it in a measured way, but if someone doesn’t want to be in my team anymore, I’ve never been one that feels like people steal people from each other. Drivers, sponsors – you lose them or they have interest in something else.
“2028 is when his contract’s through. We’ll wait if that’s what’s necessary – if there’s something to be done earlier then of course we’d be interested, but I think right now we’re all stuck into 2026.”
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