Reports say Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull at the end of 2027 to join McLaren in 2028. Multiple outlets credited Lambiase as a central technical and strategic figure across Max Verstappen’s four drivers’ championships and Red Bull’s 2022 and 2023 constructors’ wins, and say he has agreed to a McLaren contract described by some sources as an “astronomical” or “huge” sum, many times his current wage. Sources also report Lambiase told reporters he will not serve as a race engineer for another driver.

Media reports say McLaren beat rival interest from teams including Aston Martin and Williams to secure Lambiase, and that the team would reunite him with former Red Bull colleagues Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay. De Telegraaf reported Lambiase recently received a promotion to head of racing at Red Bull and that he turned down an Aston Martin team principal role. Some coverage speculates McLaren could install Lambiase in a senior leadership post, and that the move has raised questions about Andrea Stella’s future, with reports linking Stella to a possible switch to Ferrari.

The planned departure has been cast in the context of a wider exodus of senior Red Bull figures, with reporting naming moves such as Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and Jonathan Wheatley to Audi, along with the exit or dismissal of Christian Horner and references to Helmut Marko. The timing and reported financial terms prompted a strong social media reaction, with fans and commentators interpreting the news as having major implications for Verstappen and team dynamics. At the time of publication, neither Red Bull, McLaren nor Max Verstappen had issued formal statements and the reports remain unconfirmed.

Sources