MAX VERSTAPPEN BACKS GIANPIERO LAMBIASE MCLAREN F1 MOVE: 'HE’D BE STUPID NOT TO TAKE IT'

Verstappen issued his first comments on his long-time Red Bull Formula 1 race engineer inking a deal with McLaren for 2028

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen says he fully backs race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase's future move to McLaren and says Lambiase had discussed his Red Bull exit with him before agreeing to it.

Last week, McLaren announced it had snapped up Lambiase for the role of chief racing officer, supporting team principal Andrea Stella on race weekends. Lambiase is expected to make the move by the start of 2028 at the latest, pending any deal to pry the British engineer loose from Red Bull Racing before the end of his current contract.

That means that if Verstappen sees out his current Red Bull deal, which expires at the end of 2028, he is set to lose his long-time ally as his race engineer. But amid suggestions the prospect of losing Lambiase could further influence Verstappen's thinking on his F1 future, with the Dutchman disillusioned with the 2026 technical regulations, he says he fully backs Lambiase's promotion to a more senior role within the F1 paddock.

“We’ve spoken about it, and when he told me what the opportunity was, I said: you’d be stupid not to take it," Verstappen said at a Viaplay event in Amsterdam. “It’s an incredible opportunity for him, not just in terms of the role but also for his future. You have to think about your family and long-term security as well.”

Verstappen revealed Lambiase had first sought his approval before committing to the career move. “He told me he wanted to hear it from me,” Verstappen said. “I said: 100%, you should just go for it.”

The Dutchman insisted his strong bond with Lambiase wouldn't change over the remainder of their time together at Red Bull, forging a lasting friendship through the many high and lows of their partnership.

“We’ve already achieved everything together, and more than once. We’ve won a lot. That won’t change," he said. “We’re both still young. You never know what happens in the future. Maybe we’ll work together again.

“We’ll be friends for life. Everyone has their own goals and ambitions. You can’t hold someone back. In the end everybody needs to grow. Everyone has their own goals in life.”

- Mike Mulder

FORMER RED BULL MECHANIC SAYS HANNA SCHMITZ COULD BE NEXT TO LEAVE AFTER GIANPIERO LAMBIASE

Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ex-Red Bull mechanic Kenny Handkammer has claimed that Hannah Schmitz could be the next senior figure to leave the team.

In recent times, Red Bull have been hit with several high-profile exits, including the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay.

Last week, another senior departure was confirmed as Gianpiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull for McLaren in 2028.

Lambiase is set to become Chief Racing Officer at McLaren and will report to team principal Andrea Stella.

Less than a week after Lambiase’s departure was confirmed, it has been claimed that another senior figure could leave.

Hannah Schmitz could be next to leave Red Bull after Gianpiero Lambiase

Speaking on The Two Mechanics podcast, Handkammer claimed that the current Head of Strategy, Schmitz, could be next in line to leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Handkammer said: “The decline of Red Bull is quite sad. If I were the CEO of Red Bull global, I’d be thinking. Look who he has lost, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Gianpiero Lambiase and Will Courtenay.

“It looks like Hannah Schmitz, Head of Strategy, is rumoured to go too, all these massive key people and talks are there’s going to be more. That’s a real head scratcher. How do you reconfigure the team?”

Who is Hannah Schmitz and what is her role at Red Bull?

Schmitz, 40, is regarded as one of the most talented figures in the Formula 1 paddock, having joined Red Bull back in 2009 as a Modelling and Strategy Engineer.

In 2011, Schmitz became Senior Strategy Engineer before being promoted to Principal Strategy Engineer in 2021. In 2026, she became Red Bull’s Head of Race Strategy following Courtenay’s move to McLaren.

Schmitz has previously been praised for playing a major role in a number of Red Bull victories.

Following the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen labelled Schmitz as ‘insanely calm’ after the Dutchman won the race from P10.

He said: “You can’t afford many mistakes. It’s of course very hard to always be on the good side, let’s say it like that. But I think we have a lot of good guys and girls in the team.

“Today, I think Hannah, our strategist, was insanely calm. Yeah, she’s very good.”

With several big names already out the door, Red Bull will have to keep the likes of Schmitz in the team if they want to prevent Verstappen from engineering his own exit.

MAX VERSTAPPEN EXPECTED TO QUIT F1 FOLLOWING SHOCK RED BULL DEPARTURE

Not only is Max Verstappen unhappy with F1's current regulations, his long-time ally Gianpiero Lambiase is leaving

@XPBimages

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer believes the exit of Gianpiero Lambiase has all but guaranteed that Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull at the end of the current season.

It was announced last week that Lambiase will leave the Milton Keynes-based outfit when his contract concludes at the end of 2027, completing a shock move to McLaren.

At McLaren, Lambiase’s role will be chief racing officer, rather than race engineer for either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri.

It is believed that McLaren’s plan is eventually to make Lambiase its team principal, kickstarting a new chapter for the 45-year-old.

Lambiase has served as Verstappen’s race engineer since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, with the pair building an exceptional working relationship during that time.

In Palmer’s view, the departure of Verstappen’s long-time ally is just another nail in the coffin at a time when the Dutchman is already unhappy, making an exit this year highly likely.

Asked if Lambiase's exit increases the chances of Verstappen leaving Red Bull, Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast: "That’s exactly how I see it. I think we’re already talking about Max probably leaving the team at some point.

"You’ve got Red Bull not being competitive, and not having the easiest route back to being competitive, given where they’re at when you factor in all the personnel who have left.

"For me, GP is such a linchpin for him; it sort of connects the driver to the team. I see this news as offering a more in-depth understanding of another reason why Max isn’t particularly happy in the team.

"And on many levels, I just don’t see him sticking around particularly long, probably beyond the end of this year, unless they have a concrete plan in place and a clear sign of progress."

- Nick Golding

GIANPIERO LAMBIASE'S F1 CAREER

REVEALED: EVERY WORD EXCHANGED BETWEEN FURIOUS MAX VERSTAPPEN AND GIANPIERO LAMBIASE | PART 2

Lap 54:

GP: “Well, that’s some gentle introduction.”

MV: “No mate, don’t give me that bulls**t now. You guys gave me this f**king strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. For f**k’s sake.”

Having caught back up on Hamilton after despatching Leclerc, Verstappen wasn’t impressed by the tactics used by Hamilton as the Mercedes driver ran him out wide exiting Turn 2.

Lap 63:

MV: “Should you leave a car’s width?”

GL: “We think you were behind at the apex, Max.”

MV: “OK, whatever, mate.”

Two laps later, the seemingly inevitable collision came as Verstappen and Hamilton barrelled into Turn 1. With Verstappen benefitting from DRS, the Dutch driver appeared slightly caught out by his overspeed as he locked up into the corner – leaving him unable to turn away as Hamilton began turning into the corner on his usual racing line.

This resulted in contact – Hamilton’s right front wheel snagging Verstappen’s left rear. Throwing the Red Bull into the air with a hefty landing, the two cars impressively managed to continue without repercussions for either.

Lap 65:

MV: “He moved under braking.”

GL: “I’m not going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max. We’ll let the stewards do their thing. It’s childish on the radio, childish.”

Taking the chequered flag in fifth place, and facing an investigation for the clash that would result in no further action following the steward’s meeting, Verstappen wasn’t impressed when he was told he needed to be checked over by the medical delegate.

Lap 70:

GL: “I understand the medical delegate needs to have a look at you, examine you, under parc ferme conditions when you get out.”

MV: “If they could send the medical delegate up to the stewards, maybe they can have a look if they are all okay.”

VIA: [PLANET F1:  https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-verstappen-radio-transcript-gianpiero-lambiase-2024-hungarian-grand-prix]