Marko: “Big loss for Verstappen, they were like an old married couple”

Lambiase separates from Max This time there has been no denial: Gianpiero Lambiase will leave Red Bull at the natural end of his contract to join McLaren from 2028. The British engineer with Italian origins has accepted the astronomical offer from the English team and will leave his role as Max Verstappen’s race engineer and Head of Racing Red Bull. Lambiase will – in all likelihood – fill the position of head of McLaren race engineers, taking away some tasks from team principal Andrea Stella. Helmut Marko’s comment To the Austrians of Kleine Zeitung Helmut Marko – who knows both Lambiase and Verstappen perfectly – commented: “This is a great loss for Max. The two were like an old married couple, with their arguments and their quarrels. GP was a fundamental figure in the development and fine-tuning of the car and followed his own line, not always in harmony with the rest of the technical staff”. Verstappen’s stomach aches While admitting “only sporadic contact” with Verstappen, Marko said that Max now “talks more about the Nurburgring than F1”. According to the former Austrian Red Bull consultant: “Verstappen is a thoroughbred driver and the current rules are designed in the direction of energy management, which can only take place in agreement with the software engineers. They took away the dominant role from the driver. The ‘Max Factor’ is only there when he has a car he trusts and now that’s not the case. A Red Bull comeback? I believe they will make it this time too.”