Gianpiero Lambiase is the only race engineer Max Verstappen has had since joining Red Bull in 2016. That changes in 2028, when Lambiase departs for McLaren as Chief Racing Officer.
The question now isn’t whether Verstappen will need someone new – it’s when Red Bull starts getting that person ready, and who it’s going to be.
Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen offered more detail than you might expect. “That will happen step by step. I do have ideas about who I want. That person is also walking around in the team, so it will just happen gradually. But not yet at the moment. I think it’s still a bit too early for that. It is of course logical that at some point, somewhere towards the end of the year, things will slowly start to change.”
So the heir apparent is already on the payroll.
With Lambiase contracted through the end of 2027, Verstappen isn’t in any particular rush to accelerate the transition.
But the clock is running, and both men know it. Verstappen acknowledged as much: “At a certain point, of course, less information will be shared. I think he (Lambiase) understands that himself as well.”
What a Handover at This Level Actually Looks Like
Because Lambiase will complete the full 2027 season at Red Bull before joining McLaren at the start of 2028, there is no gardening leave involved, though Red Bull will naturally be cautious about how much intelligence flows toward a direct rival through a man already committed to them.
That’s precisely what Verstappen is describing: a gradual fade of operational detail rather than a hard cutoff.
Simon Rennie, currently head of Red Bull’s simulation engineering, has already stepped in for Lambiase on race weekends when the latter was unavailable for personal reasons. Whether Rennie is the candidate Verstappen has in mind is unclear, but his name is the most visible one to have already occupied the seat.
Most of the key architects behind Red Bull’s run of championships have already left: Christian Horner was sacked last July, Adrian Newey departed for Aston Martin, Jonathan Wheatley moved to Audi, and Helmut Marko stepped down at the end of 2025.
Lambiase joining McLaren is another domino, and it comes as Red Bull’s 2026 campaign is well off the pace of Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.
A decade-plus working relationship with an engineer who knows how you think doesn’t rebuild overnight. Verstappen is handling this sensibly. But sensible doesn’t mean painless.
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