Verstappen to get new race engineer as Red Bull shifts Hart into Lambiase role
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 19, 2026
Red Bull engineer change
Red Bull has confirmed a major change to Max Verstappen’s side of the garage. Red Bull race engineer Tom Hart will replace Gianpiero Lambiase when Lambiase leaves for McLaren, putting Verstappen on course to work with a new Formula 1 race engineer for some races in 2026.
The move keeps Hart inside the team after he was once expected to join Williams as Alex Albon’s race engineer. Red Bull and Williams bosses Laurent Mekies and James Vowles reached an agreement that kept Hart at Red Bull in Milton Keynes, a deal that now places him in line for the biggest engineering job in the team. Hart has worked as Verstappen’s performance engineer since 2020, so he already knows the driver’s methods, preferences and working style.
That continuity matters for Red Bull. Verstappen has spent years building his race weekend routine with Lambiase, who has worked with him for the past decade and currently serves as Red Bull’s head of racing. The team now has to replace a figure who has sat at the center of Verstappen’s title runs and race-day calls, and it has chosen someone already embedded in the operation rather than bringing in an outsider.
Hart and Lambiase
Lambiase’s next move points outside Milton Keynes and toward McLaren. He is set to join McLaren as chief racing officer from 2028, although his exact departure date from Red Bull has not been announced. He is expected to go through gardening leave before making the switch, which leaves Red Bull with a window to prepare for the handover while he remains off the grid.
That timeline gives Hart a chance to settle into the role before the full changeover arrives. Red Bull has also enlisted Yuki Tsunoda to help prepare Verstappen’s next race engineer, a sign the team wants the transition to be smooth when the change comes. The job will carry pressure from the start. Verstappen’s race engineer is one of the most visible technical roles in Formula 1, and the driver-engineer link can shape strategy, car balance calls and the tone across a race weekend.
For Red Bull, the move also keeps some internal knowledge in place. Hart has worked closely with Verstappen since 2020, so he already understands the driver’s feedback process and the way the team prefers to operate. That background gives Red Bull a familiar option at a time when it is losing a long-serving hand in Lambiase. It also means the team can manage the switch without forcing Verstappen into a completely new relationship from day one.
Verstappen contract future
The engineer change comes with Verstappen’s wider future still unresolved. His contract includes a performance clause, which has kept the conversation around his Red Bull stay open. Verstappen’s manager has said he intends to see out the Red Bull contract, and Verstappen has said Red Bull is already looking for the best replacement.
That leaves the team managing two tracks at once. It must prepare for a new race engineer while also protecting the structure around its lead driver. Verstappen remains the central figure in Red Bull’s plans, and the team’s choice of Hart shows it is prioritizing familiarity and internal promotion as it works through a period of change. The move also underlines how much Red Bull values continuity in the cockpit-to-wall relationship, especially with a driver whose feedback and execution have helped define the team’s recent success.
Hart’s rise now puts him in position for a defining task. He will move from performance support into the role that shapes the rhythm of Verstappen’s races, from setup direction to live race management. Lambiase’s exit will close one long chapter for Red Bull, but the team has already started the next one with a known quantity.
