Red Bull has made a controversial personnel decision – Red Bull Racing has quietly made a decision that could significantly impact its future in Formula 1, and Max Verstappen’s personal career.
Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen’s long-standing race engineer and one of the team’s most influential figures, is set to remain at Red Bull for at least the 2026 season. According to Autosport, the 45-year-old Briton has turned down approaches from rival teams and opted for continuity over change, at least for now.
This decision provides short-term stability for Red Bull at a time when the team is undergoing visible internal changes. However, it also highlights that nothing is guaranteed beyond 2026, with longer-term questions still hanging over both Lambiase’s future and Red Bull’s internal structure.
Impact on Max Verstappen
Few relationships in modern Formula 1 are as close as that between Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase. The engineer has been Verstappen’s voice on the radio throughout multiple world championships, shaping race strategy, managing pressure situations and acting as a vital buffer between driver and team.
Rumours that Lambiase could be moved away from the pit wall or reassigned to a broader management role sparked concern inside the paddock. Such a change would directly affect Verstappen, who has repeatedly emphasised the importance of trust and continuity to his performance. For now, however, these fears appear to be unfounded. Lambiase will continue in his current role, ensuring that Verstappen retains one of his closest confidants during the first season of the 2026 regulations.
However, this is not a long-term guarantee. Although Lambiase’s contract runs until the end of 2027, his current commitment reportedly only covers the 2026 campaign. A future move, and potential disruption to Verstappen’s inner circle, remains possible.
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2026 is set to be a make-or-break year for Verstappen and Lambiase
With the 2026 regulations set to shake up the grid, Lambiase is facing a decisive season. Red Bull has already experienced several senior departures: Horner, Marko, Marshall, Newey, and now the departure of strategy chief Will Courtenay to McLaren. This has left gaps in the team’s leadership and decision-making processes.
If Red Bull struggles to adapt to the new rules, Lambiase could be the next to leave, which would have an immediate impact on Verstappen.
The implication is clear: Verstappen’s championship hopes depend on keeping his key confidant close. A shaky start to 2026 could trigger a ripple effect, destabilising the team’s race-day operations and jeopardising Red Bull’s dominance. For both driver and engineer, the stakes have never been higher, what happens in 2026 could define the next chapter of their careers.
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Absence that fuelled speculation
Speculation surrounding Lambiase intensified last season when he was absent from the pit wall during the Austrian and Belgian Grands Prix for personal reasons.
During those weekends, former Red Bull strategist Simon Rennie stepped in as Verstappen’s race engineer. While the situation was handled smoothly, it inevitably raised questions about whether Red Bull was preparing for a longer-term transition. These rumours have now been quelled, but not entirely extinguished.
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Courtenay’s exit highlights a wider shift:
Lambiase’s recommitment came just one day after Red Bull officially confirmed Courtenay’s departure. After 22 years with the team, including 15 years as head of race strategy, Courtenay is joining McLaren as sporting director.
His exit reinforces a growing narrative: Red Bull is no longer immune to erosion at the top. While keeping Lambiase on board may slow this trend, it will not stop it entirely.
READ MORE. – Austrian experts in Maranello: Ferrari HUGE 2026 power advantage
NEXT ARTICLE – Ferrari’s 2 cars designed for 2026. More Maranello madness?
The six race run in which concluded the 2024 Formula One season did not quite have the excitement of 2025 where the drivers’ championship was decided at the final chequered flag of the season. Max Verstappen in fact claimed the 2024 title in Las Vegas with two race weekends remaining.
However in terms of the constructors’ championship, the 2024 run in was nail biting for McLaren who once held a 74 point lead over Ferrari as the sport embarked on its final two triple header six races.
Two wins together with six podiums from Austin to Abu Dhabi saw the Scuderia come within just 14 points of their first championship since 2008. Yet at the annual Ferrari festive bash, Fred Vasseur announced that their 2025 F1 challenger would be an entirely new car.
Ferrari strange decision in 2024
This was confusing for a number of reasons. Firstly the SF-24 finished the year the strongest, but the Scuderia designed a car for 2025 that was “99% new components.” The team switched their tried and tested front suspension from its push rod configuration to a pull rod design.
But this was the final year of a set of car design technical regulations and the remainder of the field were refining their 2024 challenger. The result? The decision was proven to be a huge mistake, as the Scuderia failed to win a single Grand Prix and claimed just seven podiums all thanks to Charles Leclerc.
Now La Gazzetta in Italy is reporting Ferrari have design two cars for 2026, one for early testing and the other for the opening round of the season in Australia. Of course teams historically have launched a car for testing and then refined it significantly before it first races in anger, but two cars to start the year?
Yet building two different cars before the tyre turns in anger seems a strange approach, yet the madness of Maranello means nothing can be ruled out from the mercurial F1 racers. “Fred Vasseur’s team will present itself to the pre-seasonal tests with different versions of the same car, to best test solutions and set-ups,” reports La Gazetta…READ MORE ON THIS STORY
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