Former Williams, McLaren and Red Bull driver David Coulthard warned of an \u201cawkward scenario\u201d which GianPiero Lambiase could face at Red Bull.<\/p>\n
Already confirmed to be joining McLaren no later than 2028, Coulthard\u2019s expectation is that Lambiase will continue in his current Red Bull<\/a> contract. Coulthard therefore warns of a point where Red Bull will need to start phasing Lambiase out of important information in order to protect the team.<\/p>\n David Coulthard warns GianPiero Lambiase over Red Bull exit scenario<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Lambiase has been at Red Bull since 2015 and race engineer to Max Verstappen throughout the Dutchman\u2019s legendary Red Bull Racing career.<\/p>\n But Lambiase has sealed a future move to McLaren to become chief racing officer, reporting to team principal Andrea Stella.<\/p>\n Exactly when Lambiase will step away from Red Bull, and when he will arrive at McLaren, remains unclear, with McLaren stating that he will join \u2018no later\u2019 than 2028.<\/p>\n Coulthard says that Lambiase could face a scenario where Red Bull cut him out of 2027 car-related matters.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still got a contract with Red Bull. We expect him to still continue in that contract,\u201d said Coulthard on the Up To Speed podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cBut of course, one of the tricky moments for Red Bull is he can\u2019t walk out of the factory with a laptop with all the data at the end of the year, but what\u2019s in your mind, you\u2019re allowed to take with you.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there\u2019ll be a point where they\u2019re going to want to say: \u2018Look, you can\u2019t really be working on this car. Or you certainly can\u2019t be across any of the discussions about developments going into 2027 and beyond.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo that becomes an awkward scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n Coulthard recalled his own experience of this when moving between Williams and McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been there as a driver,\u201d he continued, \u201cwhere at the end of 1995, I\u2019d already signed to join McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cYou still go about the race weekend in a normal fashion, but I wasn\u2019t any more allowed to go into certain areas in the factory when I went to Williams.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstandably so, because I\u2019m moving to another team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it just starts to erode the relationship and make it a little bit of a compromise.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what McLaren, I\u2019m sure, would be hoping is that Red Bull would release \u2018GP\u2019 early from his contract, release the obligation to pay his salary, and allow him to join McLaren early.<\/p>\n \u201cBut on the other side, why would they want to do anything that gives your competitors an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest on Red Bull from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Yuki Tsunoda returns to Red Bull cockpit on back of Turkish Grand Prix announcement<\/a><\/p>\n First look: Max Verstappen tests rotating Red Bull rear wing at Silverstone<\/a><\/p>\n The McLaren team statement announcing Lambiase\u2019s future arrival said \u2018when his existing contract ends, no later than 2028.\u2019<\/p>\n Former F1 presenter Will Buxton theorised: \u201cI do not believe we will see GP at Red Bull Racing in 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think that the announcements were worded very delicately and very precisely by both McLaren and Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cThat leaves an opportunity for an early exit.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was asked by Sky F1 whether there is a chance of bringing Lambiase in earlier than 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, there\u2019s always a chance,\u201d said Brown, \u201cbut he has a contract, and we\u2019re going to respect that.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in conversations with Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to, I presume, have a solution, and then once and if that\u2019s in place, open to have a dialogue.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re prepared to wait until \u201928 and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do if that\u2019s what ends up happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n