In recent weeks, much has been said about the split between Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Red Bull. The Italian-British engineer has decided to embark on a new adventure at McLaren, an opportunity that is expected to begin no later than 2028.
Steiner has no doubts about what Lambiase will do
A deadline that could actually be brought forward. According to former Haas team principal Günther Steiner, this is not just a possibility but a certainty:
“I think he will leave Red Bull very soon, so he can perhaps start his McLaren role earlier than planned,” he said on the ‘Drive to Wynn’ podcast.
According to the South Tyrolean manager, the issue is purely related to motivation:
“If you know you will have to leave your current team for another one, it becomes difficult to give 100%. Do you still give everything? Maybe only 99%, and in Formula 1 sometimes that is not enough, especially in the situation Red Bull is in right now.”
No strategic plan behind McLaren’s moves, just a natural process
Of course, for the Milton Keynes-based team this is a heavy blow, but in a way it was also somewhat expected. The departures of Adrian Newey and Christian Horner caused a shock within the organisation.
As a result, other key figures such as Rob Marshall (former chief designer) and Will Courtenay (former head of race strategy) also decided to join McLaren. These acquisitions were later joined by Gianpiero Lambiase as well.
Asked to give his opinion on McLaren’s recruitment strategy and Red Bull’s losses, Günther Steiner said:
“McLaren is thinking long term, a very smart move. They have taken experienced people, but still young enough to have the drive needed to achieve more success. They are certainly not thinking about retirement (perhaps he was referring to Newey’s move to Aston Martin, the only major target McLaren has missed so far in this brain drain from Milton Keynes). They have been very smart.”
It might look like McLaren is deliberately targeting Red Bull. Taking away such valuable minds and making them their own is effectively a double advantage: you strengthen yourself while weakening your rival. However, Steiner does not see this as a highly strategic plan.
Instead, he believes it is a completely natural process:
“McLaren is a winning team, they have won in the last two years. If you are a successful engineer, you want to work for a winning team. That is how you attract top talent,” he concluded.
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