Gianpiero Lambiase’s joining McLaren may not be a big deal, but the potential retirement of Max Verstappen due to this move is causing a stir in the F1 community, Yankee Scores reports. 

Gianpiero Lambiase to Join McLaren in 2028

Red Bull race car driver Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is set to be the new race engineering boss at McLaren from 2028.

It is an unexpected move. Verstappen has stated several times that he will retire from F1 if Lambiase is not his race engineer.

Lambiase will work at Red Bull until he can join McLaren.  He’s been the only race engineer Verstappen has worked with since he moved to Red Bull in 2016. He is expected to join McLaren to lead their race engineering department while keeping McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella.

Stella, the former team manager of Ferrari took charge of McLaren in 2023. He has been leading the team to constructors’ championships in the last two seasons. Lambiase recently turned down a proposal to become the team manager of Aston Martin. McLaren’s proposition seemed much better than Aston Martin to the 45-year-old Italian man.

Neither Red Bull nor McLaren have made any comments on the issue.

Verstappen’s Future in Jeopardy After Japan Announcement

It has come amidst the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Verstappen after criticizing the regulations in F1 2026. In the recent race in Japan, Verstappen announced that he will step down from racing at the end of the current season amid his contract ending in 2028.

Lambiase is another prominent figure from Red Bull to go over to McLaren. Rob Marshall joined McLaren as the technical director of the team next season while Will Courtenay joined as the sporting director of the team this season. Apart from Lambiase, Adrian Newey left Red Bull for Aston Martin and so did the team manager Christian Horner and adviser Helmut Marko.