Lambiase leaving: what next for Max + Red Bull? Can McLaren catch Mercedes in '26?
F1 Nation
Formula 1
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 April 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Tom Clarkson is joined by former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer and IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe to discuss the news that Max Verstappen’s race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, will leave Red Bull Racing in 2028 and join McLaren as their Chief Racing Officer.
What does Lambiase’s departure mean for Red Bull? How will it affect Verstappen’s future at the team? And what will GP bring to McLaren?
Plus, the guys are joined by McLaren’s Technical Director of Performance, Mark Temple, who says Mercedes are 'beatable' in 2026 and tells us about the upgrade work being done at the factory before the Miami GP.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We've had some big news involving one of the most successful race engineers in the sport. |
| 0:07.7 | Punchy moor from GP. |
| 0:09.0 | That's a big coup for McLaren. |
| 0:10.6 | What does this all mean for Vastappen? |
| 0:12.8 | Do we think this will just hasten his departure from Red Bull? |
| 0:16.8 | That's exactly how I see it. |
| 0:38.6 | When I read the news, the very first thought that I had was almost the other way around. Man, what does GP know that we don't? Other people must look at this as an empire falling. And this is where it's going to be, I think, a defining moment of Luammecki's tenure. If Estappan were to leave Red Bull. Who would be at top of your shopping list? |
| 0:39.2 | Oh. |
| 0:47.0 | Hello, everyone, and welcome to F1 Nation. |
| 0:51.9 | I'm Tom Clarkson, here to provide your F1 fix with no racing in April. |
| 0:57.1 | And joining me on the show, as usual, is former F1 driver Jolian Palmer and IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe. Guys, great to have you on the show again. Later on, |
| 1:03.9 | we're going to be talking to McLaren's technical director of performance to hear what's |
| 1:08.3 | happening back at the factory between now and the Miami Grand Prix |
| 1:11.4 | as they chase the pace-setting Mercedes. But first, we've had some big news involving one of |
| 1:18.5 | the most successful race engineers in the sport. Jampero Lambiasi, GP, as you might know him, |
| 1:25.4 | is going to leave Red Bull and join McLaren. |
| 1:29.4 | GP has been Max Verstappen's race engineer for the past 10 years, |
| 1:33.7 | and all 71 of Max's wins, including that first one in Spain back in 2016. |
| 1:40.3 | In that time, they've won four driver's championships together, |
| 1:43.8 | making them one of the most successful |
| 1:46.0 | driver-engineer partnerships in F-1 history. This isn't happening immediately. GP is going to remain |
| 1:53.7 | with Red Bull as Vastappen's engineer until 2028 when he'll join McLaren as chief racing officer. |
... |
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