Zak Brown breaks silence after McLaren confirms surprise Lambiase move

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 announced on Thursday that Lambiase will join the team “no later than 2028” following a surprise move from Red Bull Racing.

Zak Brown welcomes GianPiero Lambiase to McLaren after Red Bull exit confirmed

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Lambiase, who has served as the race engineer to four-time world champion Verstappen since May 2016, will arrive in the role of chief racing officer, working under team principal Andrea Stella.

Reports ahead of the announcement had claimed that Lambiase could succeed Andrea Stella, who has been linked with a return to Ferrari, as team principal.

However, PlanetF1.com understands that Stella’s role remain unchanged and that he is not set for a surprise move to Maranello.

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McLaren is thought to have fought off competition to secure the services of Lambiase.

It is believed that the 45-year-old had also been approached by the Aston Martin team before Jonathan Wheatley, the now-departed Audi F1 team principal, emerged as the favourite to succeed Adrian Newey.

Lambiase is the latest former Red Bull man to join McLaren following the signings of chief designer Rob Marshall and sporting director Will Courtenay over recent years.

Brown took to social media to welcome Lambiase following the news of his switch, welcoming him to “an incredible team” under the leadership of Stella.

He wrote: “Happy to share that GianPiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting into Team Principal Andrea Stella, when his contract ends no later than 2028.

“He joins an incredible team under Andrea’s leadership and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”

In a statement issued to PlanetF1.com following the news of Lambiase’s exit on Thursday, Red Bull said: “Oracle Red Bull Racing confirms that GianPiero Lambiase will leave the team in 2028, when his current contract expires.

“GP is a valued member of the team, which he joined in 2015.

“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 adding more success to our strong track record together.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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