Jos Verstappen makes fresh claim over Max Verstappen’s future following Gianpiero Lambiase’s exit

Jos Verstappen has said that Max Verstappen told Gianpiero Lambiase to ‘seize’ his move to McLaren, but he’s not convinced it means his son will now be looking to leave Red Bull as well.

On Thursday, Red Bull and McLaren confirmed that Lambiase will make the switch from Milton Keynes to Woking by 2028 at the latest. He’ll be stepping into a senior role under Andrea Stella, taking over as chief racing officer and overseeing the race team.

Stella is currently juggling both the chief racing officer duties and the team principal role. There were also early reports linking him to a move to Ferrari, but when McLaren announced Lambiase’s appointment, they made it clear he’d be reporting directly to Stella.

It’s believed that Stella played a part in pushing for Lambiase’s arrival, seeing him as someone who can help manage some of the workload during race weekends. Lambiase brings plenty of experience, having been in F1 since 2005 and with Red Bull since 2015.

Max unlikely to leave Red Bull over Gianpiero Lambiase departure

Lambiase joined Red Bull as Daniil Kvyat’s race engineer before taking on the same role for Max Verstappen in 2016. Before the 2025 season, he was promoted to head of racing after Jonathan Wheatley’s exit.

Verstappen and Lambiase have built a strong working relationship over the years, picking up four drivers’ championships together. But Jos Verstappen said both he and his son supported Lambiase’s decision to move to McLaren, recognising it as a significant opportunity for him.

“We’ve known about it for a while, and we also knew when it would happen,” Verstappen told Racexpress. “We still have one and a half to two years to work with him.”

“It is a huge opportunity for him. We understand that, and we also told him that he had to seize this opportunity with both hands. It is up to Red Bull to replace him.”

After winning the 2021 title, Verstappen said: “If he stops, I will also stop.” But Jos Verstappen doesn’t think Max will leave just because of Lambiase’s departure, although he hasn’t ruled it out completely.

He added: “Things have changed since then, especially after four championships, you have achieved a lot together. That last part is up to Max, but I think he’s going to continue.”

The Dutchman has been openly critical of the new regulations and even called the RB22 “undriveable” in Japan. His teammate Isack Hadjar described the chassis as “terrible”. If these issues persist, Verstappen could activate one of several release clauses in his contract through 2028.