Zak Brown suggested that an \u201cuncomfortable\u201d situation for Red Bull could develop if GianPiero Lambiase continues with the team.<\/p>\n
Lambiase has agreed a future move to McLaren<\/a>, though Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has stated that Lambiase will remain in Milton Keynes for the \u201cnext two years\u201d. Brown compared the situation to when Lewis Hamilton agreed to join Ferrari, with regard to the restriction of knowledge Lambiase could face at Red Bull.<\/p>\n Zak Brown warns Red Bull over Gianpiero Lambiase situation<\/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 is to join McLaren as the team\u2019s chief racing officer no later than 2028.<\/p>\n He has played a key role at Red Bull since arriving in 2015, most notably as Max Verstappen\u2019s long-serving race engineer.<\/p>\n But, while Lambiase will take up a \u201conce in a lifetime<\/a>\u201d opportunity at McLaren, Red Bull is not ready to let him go just yet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have \u2018GP\u2019 with us for the next two years,\u201d Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told Sky F1.<\/p>\n Following that statement, the broadcaster asked McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown whether McLaren believes it can get Lambiase through the door before 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know how this game works,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point, it\u2019ll be probably uncomfortable having someone that you know is going to a rival team.<\/p>\n \u201cMy general view is, if someone wants to move on, you need to do it in a measured way. But if someone doesn\u2019t want to be at my team anymore, I\u2019ve never been one that feels like people steal people from each other, drivers, sponsors, you lose them or they have interest in something else.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, \u201928 is when his contract is through. We\u2019ll wait, if that\u2019s what\u2019s necessary. If there\u2019s something to be done earlier, then, of course, we\u2019d be interested.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think right now, we\u2019re all stuck into \u201926.\u201d<\/p>\n Put to him that there needs to be firewalls between any knowledge Lambiase could pass to McLaren and what he could gain during that time, Brown continued: \u201cYeah. It makes things uncomfortable, right.<\/p>\n More on GianPiero Lambiase from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Verstappen accepts Lambiase Red Bull exit as \u2018times change\u2019 ahead of 2028<\/a><\/p>\n Zak Brown addresses Andrea Stella Ferrari rumours after GianPiero Lambiase signing<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf I had someone in my racing team that I knew was going, whether it\u2019s a racing driver\u2026 You see it in racing drivers. You hear about it with racing drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Sir Lewis went to Ferrari, announced it early, at some point, Mercedes starts, understandably, cutting off knowledge that he might have.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s just how the business works.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we\u2019ll see how it plays out. We\u2019ve got time. We know we\u2019re all settled for \u201926, so we\u2019ll chat about it when the time\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n Lambiase will report to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella once he arrives as chief racing officer.<\/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