Red Bull shock as GP walks away: Verstappen's right hand man set to exit in 2028

 

Gianpiero Lambaise will leave Red Bull Racing in 2028 to join McLaren as their new Chief Racing Officer. Lambaise has been Max Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016, their “radio marriage” has defined Red Bull’s dominance. His exit is the latest in a “brain drain” of senior staff leaving Red Bull following the departures of Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley and Will Courtenay.

The departure of Lambaise is not an isolated incident: it is the culmination of a two year internal collapse at Red Bull. Lambaise and Verstappen have been together for a decade. With him being one of the few people who can bluntly “shut down” Verstappen on the radio. His exit in 2028 aligns perfectly with the end of Verstappen’s contract, signalling that the “Verstappen era” at Red Bull is likely entering its final phase.

Lambaise framed the move as the natural conclusion to his time with Verstappen, suggesting that once their partnership ends, he cannot simply engineer another driver.

“The day Max and I stop working together in this setup will be the day I’m keen to take on a new challenge. I don’t think it would be fair to another driver if we tried to replicate what I’ve been doing with Max since May 2016. I see this as something incredibly special and don’t think anything like it will happen again.”

Lambaise’s quote effectively sets an expiration date on the current Red Bull era. By aligning his exit with the end of Verstappen’s contract, he has signalled to the world that the most dominant driver-engineer pairing in history is in its “final act.”

The departure of Lambaise is the most significant blow to Red Bull since Newey’s exit. It signals the final structural collapse of the era that dominated the early 2020s. Analysts, including Ralf Schumacher, have described the current state of Red Bull as “disarray.” With Helmut Marko’s influence fading and Laurent Mekies struggling to stabilise the midfield mired team, Red Bull is no longer the “destination” team of F1.

Verstappen has famously stated, “as soon as he stops, I stop too.” While his camp suggests he will continue for now, the departure of the one person who can effectively “manage” him on the radio removes the final emotional anchor keeping him at Red Bull. Lambaise isn’t just an engineer: he is the Head of Racing, his exit completes a “brain drain” that has seen Newey, Wheatley and Courtenay depart. Red Bull faces the risk of becoming a “corporate ghost,” losing the maverick culture that allowed them to dominate for two decades.

By Charlie Gardner 

📸 Imagery courtesy of Formula One (F1) and Oracle Red Bull Racing