“Max Verstappen has said that if Lambiase leaves, he’ll leave too. So I can certainly imagine Oscar Piastri joining Red Bull and Max then moving to McLaren, if he continues racing at all,” said Schumacher.
Last week it became clear that Verstappen’s race engineer and close confidant, Lambiase, will leave Red Bull when his 2028 contract expires and will then join McLaren.
Lambiase’s exit means Verstappen will have lost three key allies in short order: aerodynamics chief Adrian Newey, who switched to Aston Martin, and motorsport adviser Dr Helmut Marko, who retired from Formula 1. The Dutchman and Lambiase have collaborated since 2016.
The team currently sits a non-threatening fourth in the constructors’ standings, behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. Verstappen’s best finish so far is sixth, achieved in the season-opener in Melbourne, leaving him ninth in the drivers’ championship.