McLaren ramping up efforts for early Max Verstappen race engineer arrival amid Madrid F1 paddock meeting
Gianpiero Lambiase and McLaren boss Zak Brown were spotted having a public meeting in the Madrid F1 paddock.
McLaren is ramping up its efforts to bring in leading Red Bull Formula 1 engineer Gianpiero Lambiase earlier than planned.
It was announced back in April that Lambiase, who is most well known for being Max Verstappen’s long-standing race engineer, will make the switch to McLaren, where he will become the Woking squad's chief racing officer.
Lambiase was originally due to join McLaren from 2028 but the reigning world champions are keen to get hold of the British-Italian engineer earlier.
For that to happen, Red Bull would have to agree a deal with McLaren. Discussions between the two teams have taken place in recent months and talks continued at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Lambiase and McLaren CEO Zak Brown were seen having a very public meeting outside of a cafe located in the vast Madrid paddock on Saturday morning.
According to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Lambiase will at least finish out this season with Red Bull, meaning his McLaren move will not take place until 2027 at the earliest.
Red Bull is already preparing for this eventuality, with Tom Hart acting as Verstappen’s race engineer in some practice sessions this year. This is set to continue at the next race in Azerbaijan.
Respected Dutch journalist Erik van Haren, who has close ties to the Verstappen camp and is usually right when it comes to all things relating to the four-time world champion, has reported that Hart will takeover as the Dutchman’s race engineer for three full weekends in Austin, Sao Paulo and Las Vegas.
Red Bull has also head-hunted former Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough to become its head of racing, though he will not start with the team until 2027.
The 50-year-old Briton, who has spent over a decade at Aston Martin, is a direct replacement for Lambiase.
Lambiase’s eventual arrival at McLaren will strengthen the team’s race operations and he will report into team principal Andrea Stella.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has committed his future to Red Bull by signing a contract extension that will keep him at the Milton Keynes squad until at least the end of 2030.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
