Lambiase in talks to exit Red Bull for Williams or Aston Martin

Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase could be set to leave Red Bull, bringing an end to a partnership that yielded four consecutive Formula 1 world drivers’ titles.

It was initially reported that the end of the 2025 championship would mark the conclusion of Lambiase’s work alongside Verstappen, with the 45-year-old British engineer understood to have asked Red Bull management not to travel as much over the course of the F1 season. In 2025, he missed the Austrian and Belgian GPs, replaced by Simon Rennie.

The British engineer, who has Italian parents and holds dual citizenship, was linked with a move to Aston Martin, but Autosport understands that negotiations with Williams, led by team principal James Vowles, are also ongoing.

The Red Bull engineer was reportedly attracted to the Williams project due to the team's history in the F1 and its aim to climb the grid and reclaim its place at the top of the standings. Williams has made significant strides in recent years and finished the 2025 season in fifth – it's highest championship position since 2017.

Broadcaster Radiobox reported that Lambiase was close a move to the Grove-based team before Christmas, but since then there has been no white smoke, as negotiations with Aston Martin remain ongoing.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing with Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

According to reports, there was talk of a CEO or team principal role at Aston Martin, with the latter position now held by Adrian Newey – but the former Red Bull designer is believed to have no intention of retaining this role long-term. The management structure at the team has been fluid in recent years, and Newey took on his new position following the relocation of Andy Cowell – which was intended to open up the relationship with Honda, the team’s exclusive power unit supplier.

Newey, therefore, has no intention of shouldering the organisational burden and wants to focus on the technical side, but it is unclear what role Lambiase might take within the Aston Martin team.

Newey has always held Lambiase in high regard and would reportedly be happy to rekindle the collaboration, which was cut short by his exit from the Milton Keynes squad.

Some see Lambiase's offer at Aston as an opportunity to build bridges between the team and Verstappen ahead of a potential 2027 move. The Dutchman’s future at Red Bull was thrown into doubt following the management reshuffle that saw Laurent Mekies replace Christian Horner at the helm.

However, if Lambiase joins Williams, the move will have little to do with his working relationship with the four-time world champion and could strongly suggest that the highly regarded British engineer was the focus of the deal.