Verstappen's race engineer Lambiase to join McLaren

Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull to join McLaren in 2028, both teams announced Thursday.

Liambiase's new role at McLaren will see him as the chief racing officer and he will report to team principal Andrea Stella. The move will help support Stella, who is already managing the duties of the chief racing officer position in addition to his responsibilities as team boss.

Lambiase has been Verstappen's race engineer since the Dutch driver's first race with the team, a record-breaking victory at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. That triumph made Verstappen the youngest race winner in Formula 1 history at the age of 18. The duo have partnered for 71 victories together and four consecutive drivers' championships from 2021-24.

Lambiase is just the latest departure to hit the Red Bull empire. Other exits in recent years include former senior advisor Helmut Marko, team principal Christian Horner, chief technical officer Adrian Newey, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, among others. At McLaren, Lambiase will also reunite with former Red Bull engineer Rob Marshall and sporting director Will Courtenay.

"The team’s ability to attract and secure top talent, like Lambiase, and previously Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay, alongside the retention and promotion of highly-talented people already within the team, is a testament to the strategic vision and culture that are integrally embodied in the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, who are also both on long-term contracts," McLaren said in a statement.

Liambiase's exit would leave Verstappen as one of the few recognizable faces left from Red Bull's dominant era this past decade. However, the four-time world champion's own future is uncertain, with Verstappen publicly pondering an early retirement from F1 due to his dissatisfaction with the sport's new regulations and cars.