Lambiase to remain as Verstappen’s race engineer for F1 2026

The future of Gianpiero Lambiase has been a major topic of discussion in recent months. Immediately after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, sources told Autosport that his exact role for 2026 would be discussed during the winter, linked to private circumstances.

Those private conditions also explain why Lambiase missed the Austrian and Belgian grands prix, and why he allowed his emotions to show after the final race of what had been a difficult season on multiple fronts.

Since then, Lambiase has been linked with other teams, including Aston Martin and Williams. That comes as no surprise, as Lambiase is highly rated as a race engineer and his responsibilities have continued to expand far beyond that in recent years. 

In addition to being Max Verstappen’s race engineer - and therefore the familiar voice on the team radio - he also serves as the head of racing at Red Bull.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing with Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Autosport now understands that Lambiase will remain in the same roles at the Austrian outfit for this year. That said, it does not necessarily mean that a move in the longer term is completely ruled out. It is understood that no final decision has been made yet regarding the offers from other teams, and senior F1 figures are often subject to periods of gardening leave anyway or held to their contracts. Lambiase’s contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2027.

The complexity of such matters was also evident in the case of Will Courtenay, who has since started as McLaren's sporting director. He was initially held to his Red Bull contract until mid-2026, although the two teams later reached an agreement on an earlier start.

Aside from this, the engineering team around Verstappen is undergoing some changes. Several long-standing members have been offered new challenges elsewhere (for example David Geoffrey Mart at Audi), although performance engineer Tom Hart will remain with the team for this calendar year. He is set to move to Williams for 2027, but will complete the 2026 season at Red Bull.

There have been some changes among the mechanics as well. In October last year, it became public that Audi’s F1 project - led by former Red Bull senior figure Jonathan Wheatley - recruited Matt Caller, Verstappen’s number 1 mechanic.