Overview
- Max Verstappen said he would be “an idiot” to try to stop race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase from taking a senior job at McLaren.
- Verstappen said they will keep working together this season and next while Red Bull prepares a replacement engineer.
- Red Bull states Lambiase will depart when his contract ends in 2028, though some coverage reports an end‑2027 timeline.
- McLaren has titled his new post chief racing officer, while Red Bull’s Laurent Mekies characterized it as a team‑principal role at his next team.
- Their partnership began in 2016 and delivered four world championships and more than 70 wins, which explains the high stakes around the transition.