ZAK BROWN COMPLETES A "RED BULL HAT-TRICK" BY SIGNING GIANPIERO LAMBIASE FOR 2028
Zak Brown confirms GianPiero Lambiase joins McLaren as Chief Racing Officer. See how this impacts Red Bull and Verstappen.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has finally spoken up after landing GianPiero Lambiase as the team’s new Formula 1 Chief Racing Officer starting in 2028.
News of Lambiase’s move from Red Bull to McLaren has already got people buzzing in the paddock. And really, it’s a big deal that the reigning constructors’ champions just added another heavyweight to their ranks. First, Rob Marshall, known for his aerodynamic expertise, came on board. Then Will Courtenay, the former Head of Strategy, joined too. Now, Lambiase completes the trio.
We still don’t know exactly what Lambiase will be handling, but he’ll report to Team Principal Andrea Stella, who’s been rumoured to have caught Ferrari’s eye.
Brown couldn’t hide his excitement in his first public comments. He went on X to announce: “Happy to share that GianPiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting into Team Principal Andrea Stella, when his contract ends no later than 2028. He joins an incredible team under Andrea’s leadership, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”
Red Bull’s statement had a totally different vibe. The team confirmed Lambiase would leave in 2028, when his contract is up, but stopped short of saying when he could head over to McLaren. “GP is a valued member of the team, who joined in 2015. Until his planned departure, GP continues in his roles as head of racing and as race engineer to Max Verstappen. The team and he are fully committed to adding more success to our strong track record together.”
Honestly, Zak Brown is shaking things up in the F1 paddock. He’s snagging Red Bull’s big names, much like Christian Horner did to Mercedes when the ground effect era started. Lambiase’s decision to join McLaren really does feel like the end of an era for Red Bull.
GIANPIERO LAMBIASE SIGNS WITH MCLAREN; RED BULL "CORE TEAM" OFFICIALLY COLLAPSES
McLaren poaches Verstappen’s engineer! Lambiase signs a long-term deal to join Andrea Stella’s senior staff.
Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer at Red Bull, Gianpiero Lambiase, is making a big move. StadiumNest has learned that Lambiase will head to McLaren on a long-term deal.
People in Formula 1 have been watching Lambiase for a while, especially since he started exploring his options last winter. He was linked to jobs at Aston Martin and Williams, but in the end, he stayed at Red Bull, not just handling Verstappen’s race engineering, but also leading their trackside operations.
Now, though, things have changed. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf first broke the story, and StadiumNest has confirmed with several sources that Lambiase and Red Bull are parting ways. He’s agreed to join McLaren, one of Red Bull’s main rivals.
Because Lambiase is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2027, he’s expected to officially join McLaren in 2028. At McLaren, his role will be a senior trackside position, working closely with team principal Andrea Stella. Both Red Bull and McLaren declined to comment.
Stella is known for his engineering-focused approach, managing a massive team both at the track and back at the factory. Lambiase’s experience should take some of the pressure off Stella as he continues running a team of over 1,000 people. There’s been some buzz that Lambiase could be in line to eventually replace Stella, especially with Ferrari reportedly interested, but apparently, that’s just rumours.
This move echoes the path of Will Courtenay, Red Bull’s former head of strategy, who also had to sit out before joining McLaren. And while 2028 is the planned start date for Lambiase, the teams might work out an early release.
Red Bull’s had a string of big departures lately, chief designer Rob Marshall went to McLaren too, and senior figures like Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Christian Horner, and Helmut Marko have all moved on in the past nine months.
Lambiase leaving can’t help but affect things at Red Bull, especially since Verstappen’s been openly considering his own future. The four-time world champion isn’t happy with the new technical rules coming in 2026. While Verstappen’s contract runs until 2028, he’s got several exit clauses and could look to leave as early as this summer if he chooses. The next few years at Red Bull are looking less settled than ever.
CEDRIC MICHEL-GROSJEAN TIPPED AS LEWIS HAMILTON’S NEW FERRARI RACE ENGINEER
Lewis Hamilton is set to work with Cedric Michel-Grosjean at the Miami GP as Ferrari rolls out major 2026 upgrades.
Lewis Hamilton is shaking things up before the fourth race of the season. Formula One photographer Kym Illman just let slip some big news about Hamilton’s Miami Grand Prix plans.
Since the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix got cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East, Miami is now the next stop on the 2026 F1 calendar. The race kicks off Friday, May 1, which gives teams a solid five-week break after Japan. That’s plenty of time for folks to make changes and get ready for the rest of the year.
And honestly, everyone’s expecting teams to roll out some serious upgrades in Miami. Ferrari’s boss, Fred Vasseur, even said after the Japanese Grand Prix that things might feel totally different once those upgrades drop.
But it’s not just the cars changing. According to Illman, Hamilton’s probably getting a new race engineer in Miami. Illman posted on Instagram that Cedric Michel-Grosjean will step in to work with Hamilton. The switch isn’t officially confirmed yet, but Illman had heard about it all the way back in Australia and even chatted with Cedric during the race weekend. Turns out, Ferrari crew members were pretty secretive about it, asking Illman not to spill the beans.
Now, there are reports everywhere about Cedric’s new role, so a formal announcement from Ferrari seems likely before the Miami race. Hamilton has had a tough time with race engineers since joining Ferrari for the 2025 season. He and Riccardo Adami had a heated partnership last year, which led to Adami's departure before 2026. Carlo Santi took over, but no one was sure if he’d stick around. That’s why rumours about Cedric stepping in have picked up.
Cedric’s got experience; he used to work at McLaren as Lead Trackside Performance Engineer and as Oscar Piastri’s Performance Engineer. He left McLaren at the end of last year, and things seemed pretty up in the air for him. Looks like working alongside Hamilton is his next chapter, and some reports say he’s already settling into Ferrari before taking on the full-time role.
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