MILTON KEYNES, England (AP) — Max Verstappen's race engineer and close ally GianPiero Lambiase is set to leave the Red Bull team in 2028 and will join Formula 1 rival McLaren as its chief racing officer.
Red Bull said Lambiase, who is also Red Bull's head of racing, will leave when his current contract expires.
“'GP' is a valued member of the team, which he joined in 2015,” Red Bull said. “Until his planned departure, ‘GP’ continues in his roles as Head of Racing and as Race Engineer to Max Verstappen. The team and he are fully committed to add more success to our strong track record together.”
The move to McLaren will see team principal Andrea Stella delegate part of his current role. Lambiase would answer to Stella.
“The role of the Chief Racing Officer already exists within the team’s structure with overall leadership of the race team. These duties are currently managed by Andrea Stella in addition to his role as Team Principal," McLaren said.
The move could fuel speculation around Verstappen's future in F1. The four-time champion has been a vocal critic of the increased reliance on electrical power in the new generation of F1 cars, has his own racing projects outside of F1 and has talked about wanting to spend more time with his family.
He told BBC radio last month he would consider his future and didn't rule out leaving the sport at the end of the season.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain sits in a car during the qualifying session of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - First place finisher Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and his chief racing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase celebrate after the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Nick Didlick, File)
Colton Herta's hopes of returning to the Indianapolis 500 in the middle of his bid to reach Formula 1 took a hit with a calendar clash Thursday after Formula 2 races were rescheduled.
The 25-year-old IndyCar star — who became the series' youngest race winner at the age of 18 in 2019 — made the move to F2 this season with an eye on the super license points needed to race in F1 with Cadillac as its first American driver.
F2 has scheduled two extra rounds of its championship alongside F1's Miami Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, both next month. The race in Montreal clashes with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. The original schedule didn't have any F2 races in May at all.
They replace rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which were called off along with the F1 races there because of the war in Iran.
Herta had been in contention for a fourth car at the Indianapolis 500 from Andretti Global, which shares an ownership group with the Cadillac F1 team in Dan Towriss and the TWG Motorsports conglomeration.
“We’re planning on a fourth car. But there are no shortage of people, and not just from IndyCar,” Towriss said in February at the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.
But now that Herta is not available, Andretti Global said Thursday it will focus on its current three-driver lineup for the Indy 500 and not enter a fourth car. The team fields cars for previous Indy 500 winners Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, as well as Kyle Kirkwood.
Herta is 10th in the F2 standings following the opening round in Australia last month.
“I think it’s great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap," Herta told The Associated Press in January of his F2 move. "I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don’t care what everybody thinks or if its going to tarnish my career.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - Colton Herta prepares to drive during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
