F1 Q&A: Red Bull, Lambias move to McLaren; 2026 starts in the wet; race strategy and 1976 cars sooner than later
This scenario is exactly the same situation as former Red Bull strategy chief Will Courtenay, who is now McLaren’s sporting director.
At the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix it emerged that Courtenay had signed to join McLaren when his contract expired, and Red Bull insisted that he would not be allowed to leave before 2026.
He did not specify exactly when in 2026 and told BBC Sport that talks had taken place which led to him starting the job at McLaren on January 1 this year.
Despite these developments, for the entirety of the previous year, Courtenay remained in his previous role, even though Red Bull was battling McLaren for the drivers’ championship.
For now, that will be the case with Lambiasse – he will continue in his role as Red Bull’s racing chief and Verstappen’s race engineer for the foreseeable future.
However, just because Red Bull’s statement announcing his departure said he would not be joining McLaren until 2028 does not mean that will be the case.
A statement from McLaren said Lambiez would join “before 2028.”. This means they will be hoping to reach an agreement with Red Bull that will reduce that deadline.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that McLaren has stressed that Lambiasse is joining to provide support to team principal Andrea Stella, not to ultimately replace him.
Stella has been acting as the Chief Racing Officer, a role for which Lambias has been appointed, in addition to being the Team Principal.
Stella said last week: “Jack (Brown, chief executive of McLaren Racing) and I have created a flat team structure, which requires ensuring that all leaders are appropriately empowered, but at the same time, we must guarantee that the necessary level of long-term support is always in place.
This approach may make my dual role unsustainable in the long run.
McLaren has indirectly – but very clearly —debunked erroneous reports that Stella is on his way to Ferrari.
Stella said in a statement released by McLaren on Friday: “Some of the recent rumours, including rumours about huge salaries and legendary pre-contracts, have made me smile.
“It almost seems as if ‘silly season’, which usually starts before summer, has arrived early.
“I am used to this kind of thing by now and take it with a smile. It almost seems as if some jealous pastry chef has tried to spoil the preparation of a delicious dessert in the Maclaren patisserie. However, we know very well how to distinguish the excellent stuff from the poisonous biscuits.”
