Gianpiero Lambiase Ditching Red Bull For Their Rival McLaren?
- therookiereporters
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Rumours have been circulating the Formula One paddock that Max Verstappen’s Race Engineer will be moving to McLaren in 2028 - but why?
Internal Issues
To simple put it, Red Bull aren't the team they were from their dominant period of 2021-2023. For us to understand the reasoning behind GP’s exit we have to go back to early 2024 with the Christian Horner scandal.
Christian Horner July 9th 2025:
Christain Horner was Red Bull’s Team Principal from 2005 to 2025 and made quite a name for himself as a respected member of the motorsporting industry until allegations of inappropriate behaviour were made by a female member of the team in February 2024. Throughout the 18 month period of investigation Horner denied such wrongdoing even after screenshots of messages were leaked online. The case was originally dismissed on February 28th before the female team member appealed Red Bull’s decision on March 16th - the very start of a new season - and was only dismissed on August 8th. Less than a year later Horner was fired from the team he built with his last Grand Prix being at Silverstone.
Will Courtenay September 24th 2024:
Furthermore, Red Bull’s Head of Strategy, Will Courtenay departed a month after Horner’s case was dismissed for a second time, and in January 2026 joined McLaren as their Sporting Director with Hannah Schmitz filling in the vacancy he left at Red Bull Racing.
Adrian Newey 1st May 2024:
This messy incident ruined Horner’s reputation and tarnished his teams simultaneously, causing some unrest in the Milton Keynes based company. During the time Horner was being investigated Adrian Newey announced that he was leaving the team after working for them for 20 years just before the Miami Grand Prix, where their biggest rival - McLaren - would take their first win since Daniel Ricciardo at Monza on the 12th of September 2021. Since then Red Bull have been on a slippery downward slope it seems. With Newey on gardening leave he was relinquished from his aerodynamicist duties: another blow for the team to lose arguably the most valuable individual in motorsports to Aston Martin.
Jonathan Wheatley 1st August 2024:
By the end of 2024 it was then revealed that Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull’s Sporting Director would follow Adrian Newey out the door but to Audi/Sauber as their Team Principal from April 2025. Since then the pair are rumoured to reunite at Aston Martin as Wheatley left Audi/Sauber with immediate effect on the 20th of March 2026.
Helmut Marko 9th December 2025:
A fourth to leave in recent years is Helmut Marko who had been with the team for 20 years being the Motorsport Advisor. He and Horner were very close colleagues and Marko was increasingly tempted to leave following Horner being fired but remained at the team another season till he felt it was the “right moment” to step back in December 2025.
His relationship with Red Bull Management became excessively strained following the passing of Dietrich Mateschitz’s, particularly with Oliver Mintzlaff which led to Marko’s autonomy becoming restrained. It is understood that Helmut made unauthorised decisions for Red Bull such as the hiring of Alex Dunne which is why many believe Red Bull fired him.
Craig Skinner 17th February 2026:
Craig Skinner announced February 2026 right before the season got underway that he was stepping back as Chief Designer for unknown reason but it is rumoured he will also reunite with Newey and Wheatley at Aston Martin in the near future.
Ole Schack 5th April 2026:
Another internal change is with Ole Schack, a long-time mechanic for the team. His departure is believed to be due to the knock-on effect of the previous internal changes and exits. He is rumoured to be completing his gardening leave now however it hasn’t been revealed which, if any, team he will join in Formula One.
Overall Red Bull have had a huge shake up with around 20 key personnel to depart so the tension, struggles and lack of morale is understandable for the Austrian outfit.
RB21 Struggles carried into 2026
Moreover Red Bull have faced issues with their car since mid 2025, although they managed to get Max to the McLaren WDC fight it’s argued that it was predominantly down to ‘Papaya Rules’ and the Woking based team not prioritising one of their drivers.
Firstly there have been Chassis and Balance Problems leading to Verstappen calling the RB22 “undrivable” with the 2026 challenger having slow cornering speed and significant tyre degradation. Secondly, reports from April this year have suggested that the car is over 10kg overweight meaning changes have been needed to improve their performance. Thirdly, Red Bull and Honda parted ways and Ford became the new power unit provider and has seen reliability issues with the hybrid section of their engine.
Andrea Stella
While the predominant part of the situation surrounds Red Bull’s issues it also includes McLaren Team Principal, Andrea Stella. McLaren has handed Andrea a multi-year contract but it’s rumoured that he has already signed a pre-contract with his 2024 rival Ferrari to replace Vasseur. Stella has a history with Marenello having worked for them from 2000 to 2014 as performance engineer with greats like Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen - he also is Italian and the pull of a more home-like environment may have also impacted this rumoured decision. Moreover, there has been a hushed conversation between Stella and Leclerc’s manager - Nicolas Todt, which suggests a seat swap between the Monegasque and Australian driver, Oscar Piastri.
In conclusion the vacancy that Stella will leave behind if he goes back to his roots will be filled by Gianpiero Lambiase.
Lambiase’s pull to McLaren
As mentioned previously Will Courtenay (and Rob Marshall in 2023) joined the team making it a more attractive option. However, Aston Martin also seems a good choice but he was offered the Team Principal position and declined meaning Wheatley has supposedly taken up the opportunity. The deal with McLaren is suggested to be a multi-million pound one which would stabilise the leadership team long-term.
What About Max Verstappen?
He is rumoured to leave Formula One as he is managing GT3 racing alongside his duties at Red Bull this year. However, with this news that Gianpiero is potentially moving to McLaren in 2028 (conveniently when his contract expires) could this be another Zak Brown ploy to bring the 4 time world champion on board?
All these rumours from the paddock actually seem to perfectly fit together. A jigsaw of throwaway thoughts are slowly coming together to form the photo of the future of Formula One but how well do you think this will turn out?
Article written by Alice Seager ©️Alice Seager 2026
