Gianpiero Lambiase jumps ship at Red Bull, set to join McLaren in 2028

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase celebrate Las Vegas Grand Prix win on the podium.

(Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

On Thursday, it was confirmed by McLaren that Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is leaving Red Bull to join McLaren in 2028. Lambiase, mainly known as “GP,” adds to the long list of being one of the many key contributors who have left the Milton Keynes-based team within the last two years.

Lambiase will join the Papaya team as its Chief Racing Officer, reporting directly to Team Principal Andrea Stella. He’ll be getting a promotion and a nice pay raise with the move. GP won’t be communicating with any drivers during the race, as he said that he wouldn’t be able to replicate what he has with Verstappen to any other driver, so once he is done working with Max, his hands-on work will be finished.

GP has spent ten years with Verstappen so far, and the two have been among the most dominant duos in Formula One history. Four World Championships, 71 Grand Prix wins, 127 podium finishes, 48 pole positions, and GP coached Verstappen to his first win in Barcelona in May of 2016. All of that wouldn’t have been possible without their trust and communication with one another. The race engineer can make or break a driver; Bono and Lewis Hamilton are another prime example of what a great race engineer and driver duo looks like.

This exit leads to more questions on Max Verstappen’s future with Red Bull. Verstappen has said that he needs to think about his career and whether or not he wants to continue driving in Formula One. He’s been speaking out against the new regulations and said that he doesn’t have fun driving these cars anymore. If he does continue to race in the sport, it'll be interesting to see if he joins GP at McLaren or if he goes to a team like Mercedes or even Ferrari.

It’s unknown if Verstappen told GP his plans so he could jump ship; his current contract ends in 2028, but it’s understood he has a clause in his contract that says he can retire at the end of this season if the performance isn’t there. He doesn’t have to inform the team of his decision until October. Verstappen will take part in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring from May 14 to May 17, just one week before the Canadian Grand Prix. He’s already racing in other series. Verstappen, back in 2021, said that he doesn’t want to work with anyone other than GP. He claimed that once GP was done, he was done. All of this is leading to the fact that he already has one foot out the door.

Both Verstappen and GP have watched Christian Horner sell his share and leave the team, Adrian Newey, the lead technical designer, left to go to Aston Martin, and Jonathan Wheatley became Audi’s new Team Principal. Ole Shahck, Red Bull mechanic for all 21 years, left last week due to a toxic work environment. Those two are the final ones left from the first 2021 title, and now they’re going to exit together. It’s the end of an era for Verstappen, Lambiase, and Red Bull.