‘A significant loss’ – Helmut Marko weighs in on Lambiase’s Red Bull exit

Former Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has described GianPiero Lambiase’s decision to move to McLaren as “a significant loss” for the team.

Max Verstappen’s long-serving race engineer made the shock announcement that he is to leave Red Bull and move to rivals McLaren for the 2028 season, raising even more question marks about the Dutchman’s future in the sport.

Helmut Marko reacts to GianPiero Lambiase’s impending Red Bull exit

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Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer ever since the Dutchman moved to Red Bull in 2016 but that long-term partnership looks likely to come to an end after the 45-year-old was confirmed to be heading to McLaren.

And while his imminent departure poses questions not only of Verstappen’s future but Red Bull’s as well, former special advisor Marko described Lambiase’s exit as a “significant loss.”

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“The two were like an old married couple,” he told APA of Verstappen and Lambiase’s relationship.

“They had their discussions and disputes, but this is a significant loss.”

The departure of the British-Italian engineer is just the latest for a Red Bull team that has lost a lot of talent in recent years.

Adrian Newey left to join Aston Martin, Jonathan Wheatley to Audi. Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay both went to McLaren while senior figures such as Marko and Christian Horner are also no longer there.

As to what comes next, Marko believes Red Bull will promote from within for his replacement, suggesting “the team is large.”

Verstappen has previously said ‘as soon as he stops, I stop too’ in reference to his relationship with Lambiase but Jos Verstappen has hinted that may not be the case anymore.

“We’ve known about it for a while and we also knew when it was going to happen,” he told RaceXpress of Lambiase’s departure.

“We’ve got another year and a half or two years to work with him.

“It’s a huge opportunity for him and we understand that. We’ve also told him: you have to go for it and grab it with both hands.

“It’s up to Red Bull to find his replacement. We’ll see.”

Lambiase has been with Red Bull Racing since 2015, joining initially as a racing engineer to Daniil Kvyat.

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