Jos Verstappen responds to McLaren bombshell as private Hamilton test completed – roundup
Could the signing of GianPiero Lambiase sway the Verstappens towards a future move to McLaren?
Friday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Jos Verstappen responding to McLaren’s announcement of the signing of GianPiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s long-serving Red Bull race engineer.
With Lewis Hamilton back on track with the Ferrari SF-26 at Fiorano, let’s fly through the day’s main headlines at the speed of light…
Jos Verstappen reacts to GianPiero Lambiase’s McLaren switch
Jos Verstappen has revealed that he has known “for a while” that GianPiero Lambiase is heading to McLaren, with Max Verstappen’s camp encouraging him to “grab it with both hands.”
And he has tipped the Red Bull driver to “just carry on” without Lambiase despite the four-time world champion previously warning that he would retire if he ever split from his long-serving race engineer.
Lambiase will join McLaren in the role of chief racing officer “no later” than 2028.
Read more: ‘Go for it’ – Jos Verstappen reveals surprise influence in Lambiase to McLaren move
Lewis Hamilton completes private Pirelli tyre test at Fiorano
Lewis Hamilton has completed a private Pirelli tyre test at Fiorano with the Ferrari SF-26.
Ferrari’s artificial wet tyre test comes after Red Bull and Racing Bulls remained at Suzuka for a tyre test following the recent Japanese Grand Prix.
Mercedes and McLaren will head to the Nurburgring for a Pirelli tyre test next week, marking the first time since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix that current F1 machinery has taken to the German circuit.
Read more: Lewis Hamilton back on track with Ferrari SF-26 in private Fiorano test
Lance Stroll consulted Max Verstappen before GT3 debut
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has revealed that he spoke with Max Verstappen before deciding to make his GT3 debut.
Stroll will participate in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe season at Paul Ricard this weekend, sharing an Aston Martin Vantage with former F1 driver Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya.
It comes after Verstappen impressed during a recent GT3 appearance at the Nurburgring.
Read more: Lance Stroll reveals Max Verstappen talks behind surprise GT3 debut
Zak Brown hails GianPiero Lambiase signing after McLaren coup
Zak Brown says he is “excited about what we can achieve together” after McLaren confirmed the signing of Max Verstappen’s race engineer GianPiero Lambiase from Red Bull.
McLaren’s signing of Lambiase comes after he was approached for a senior role at the Aston Martin team.
Lambiase becomes the latest Red Bull man to join McLaren following the hires of Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay over recent years.
Read more: Zak Brown breaks silence after McLaren confirms surprise Lambiase move
FIA issues update after first round of F1 2026 rule change talks
The FIA says there was “constructive dialogue on difficult topics” during the first of a series of meetings over potential refinements to the F1 2026 rules on Thursday.
It comes ahead of three further meetings before the F1 2026 season resumes with the Miami Grand Prix next month.
A section of the FIA’s statement read: “It was generally agreed that although the events to date have provided exciting racing, there was a commitment to making tweaks to some aspects of the regulations in the area of energy management.”
Read more: FIA reveals ‘difficult topics’ discussed in ‘constructive’ meeting over F1 2026 rules
