Verstappen Approved Lambiase’s Move to McLaren as Chief Racing Officer

**TL;DR:** Max Verstappen said he gave his blessing for race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to join McLaren as chief racing officer from 2028, noting the engineer sought his approval before accepting the offer.

**Context:** Gianpiero Lambiase has been Max Verstappen’s race engineer since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, a partnership that yielded four world championships and 71 race victories. Known to fans as “GP,” Lambiase currently serves as Red Bull’s head of race engineering, with a contract that runs through the end of 2027. His role involves relaying strategy and feedback during races, a voice familiar from Verstappen’s radio messages. Lambiase’s nickname derives from his initials, and he has been the sole race engineer for Verstappen throughout the Dutchman’s entire Red Bull tenure.

**Key Facts:** At a Viaplay event in Amsterdam this week, Verstappen said Lambiase asked for his blessing before deciding to move to McLaren. Verstappen replied that Lambiase would be “stupid not to do that” and gave his permission. McLaren announced last week that Lambiase will become the team’s chief racing officer starting in 2028, although Red Bull’s announcement said he would leave in 2028 and McLaren hopes to negotiate an earlier start.

**What It Means:** The transfer moves a senior technical figure from Red Bull to a direct rival, potentially shifting engineering expertise between the two teams. For Verstappen, the long‑standing collaboration with Lambiase has been a constant source of success; the engineer’s departure may affect his future race‑day support, though Verstappen said he supports the move for Lambiase’s family and career security. Verstappen also labelled the current Formula 1 cars “anti‑racing” and compared them to Mario Kart, reflecting his growing frustration with the sport’s new hybrid direction. Speculation about Verstappen’s own future persists, with his father Jos recently downplaying ideas of an early exit and saying he expects his son to continue. Meanwhile, Formula 1’s teams are set to meet with CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA officials ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to discuss possible rule adjustments.

**Forward-looking line:** Watch for whether Lambiase joins McLaren ahead of 2028 and how Verstappen’s contract talks with Red Bull develop in the coming months.