Guenther Steiner plays down GianPiero Lambiase Red Bull exit amid ongoing departures

Guenther Steiner has dismissed GianPiero Lambiase’s Red Bull exit as a natural part of Formula 1’s cycle, insisting it’s simply a case of striking while the iron is hot.

McLaren announced last week that it had secured the services of Verstappen’s long-time race engineer, Lambiase, who would join the Woking team no later than 2028.

Guenther Steiner on GianPiero Lambiase Red Bull exit

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Lambiase will be the last big-name to leave the Milton Keynes squad.

“The team has also bid farewell to several key figures, including Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley while also bidding farewell to long-serving team principal Christian Horner before advisor Helmut Marko left in the off-season.

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But while it could be seen as a concern for Red Bull, former Haas team boss Steiner puts it down to life in the Formula 1 paddock.

While teams reach the top, as Red Bull has gone, their personnel became hot property for rival teams, which means when results move into the other direction, they are already being head-hunted.

PlanetF1.com understands Aston Martin made a play for Lambiase before McLaren won the race.

“I think as you will see in Formula One, everything is cyclical,” Steiner told the Drive to Wynn podcast. “You know, everything goes around.

“And I think there is this cycle now that Red Bull was so good for so long time, and some people want something new, and some people see their value is highest now.

“Red Bull in the moment, they are still good, you know, they are still third or fourth, I would say fourth, strongest team there. So it’s not bad, but they are not winning everything anymore.

“And obviously the value of these people is there when they are winning or when they are doing good. If these guys are not leaving now, maybe they have to wait until it comes back to Red Bull, that they win again.

“I think if one starts to do that, a lot of people follow, and every time the team is weakened and then goes back to earth, and more people leave.

“But I think it’s just one of these things. It happens all in life. You know, nothing is forever, all the good things come to an end.”

It’s now up to new team principal Laurent Mekies, who took over from Horner after last year’s British Grand Prix, to rebuild Red Bull.

Steiner is sure the Frenchman can entice the right talent over to Milton Keynes.

“I think it’s very difficult to stop. I think it started two years ago, or more than two years ago. The success wasn’t there anymore. The domination was not there.

“Obviously. Mr. Mateschitz unfortunately passed away, so there was a big leadership missing, And the company had to find itself as a company, and the race team is just part of a huge company, Red Bull, you know. So I think it’s a combination of things.

“And then obviously they didn’t win anymore. So the criticism was out for Christian that he didn’t do a good job. You know, everybody got nervous, and people saw opportunities.

“Adrian wasn’t happy there anymore. Jonathan Wheatley left. There is quite a few people which left, you know.

“So it’s, as I said, it happens. And now what I’m sure what Laurent is focusing on – because I think Laurent is a very good guy – but he will need some time to fix it again. You know, he cannot fix it in six months, or what has happened in the last 24 months.

“You know, he’s not magician. So if they give Laurent enough time, he will fix it, bring in his own people, try to find again, young talent, which want to work at Red Bull and make it successful again.

“But it will take some time. They cannot expect that they will be back as the as the dominator of the dominating team in the next year or two.”

As for GP’s departure, which could yet have a knock-on effort on Verstappen’s future in the sport, Steiner says the race engineer would’ve spoken with the driver, a statement that has ben backed by both Verstappen and his father Jos Verstappen.

“I wouldn’t say blessing,” he said. “But I think Max is grown up enough that if GP explains to him that he has got a good opportunity which he needs to take, I think Max is fair enough to say, ‘hey buddy, you helped me a lot in my career, now you have to look after yours’.

“And he was fine. Obviously,I’m not saying that Max was happy that he’s leaving.

“But again, Max is now going up enough to say, ‘I don’t want to hinder you, you to do what you need to do for you, for your life. Because you know, my career will be finishing at some stage, and I will not look after you after that one’.

“And Max can stop working when he stops driving a Formula 1 cars. I think GianPiero needs to keep on working.”

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