Max Verstappen has revealed that he encouraged Red Bull race engineer GianPiero Lambiase to take up a “fantastic offer” from McLaren after being asked for his “approval.”
McLaren announced the signing of the highly respected Lambiase last week after almost a decade as Verstappen’s race engineer.
Max Verstappen: GP Lambiase ‘asked for my approval’ after McLaren offer
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Lambiase will arrive at Woking ‘no later’ than 2028, the year his current Red Bull contract is due to expire, in the role of chief racing officer.
PlanetF1.com understands that McLaren fought off competition to secure the services of Lambiase, who was also approached over a senior role with the Aston Martin team.
Verstappen and Lambiase have enjoyed enormous success since working together for the first time at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, where an 18-year-old Verstappen won on his Red Bull debut.
The Dutchman went on to claim four consecutive world championships with Lambiase by his side between 2021 and 2024.
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Addressing Lambiase’s exit for the first time on stage at an event organised by Viaplay, Verstappen revealed that his race engineer “asked me for my approval” before accepting McLaren’s offer.
Verstappen said: “He told me what kind of offer he’d received. I said: ‘You’d be daft not to take it.’
“We’ve already achieved everything together and then he gets such a fantastic offer, especially with his family in mind and the security it would bring him.
“He asked me for my approval, so to speak, and I told him he absolutely had to go for it.
“He really wanted to hear that from me.”
Verstappen’s comments come seven days after his father, the former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, revealed that the driver’s camp had been aware of Lambiase’s impending switch to McLaren for some time.
Verstappen Sr told RaceXpress: “We’ve known about it for a while and we also knew when it was going to happen.
“We’ve got another year and a half or two years to work with him.
“It’s a huge opportunity for him and we understand that. We’ve also told him: you have to go for it and grab it with both hands.
“It’s up to Red Bull to find his replacement. We’ll see.”
Verstappen has previously being quoted as saying that he would “stop too” if his working relationship with Lambiase ever came to an end.
Lambiase’s departure comes at a time Verstappen has renewed his threats to quit F1 over his unhappiness with the new rules for the F1 2026 season.
However, Verstappen Sr hinted that his son will “just carry on” when Lambiase makes the move to McLaren.
Put to him that his son had previously warned that Lambiase’s departure would see him walk away too, Verstappen Sr added: “I think things have changed.
“Especially after four championships, you’ve achieved a lot together.
“The final decision is up to Max, but I think he’ll just carry on.”
Verstappen will be back behind the wheel for the Nurburgring 24-hour qualifiers this weekend ahead of his debut in the endurance classic next month.
The 28-year-old will split driving duties with Lucas Auer in a Red Bull-branded Mercedes-AMG GT3 car at the Nurburgring, with the qualifiers set to see Verstappen drive the iconic Nordschleife at night for the first time.
The qualifiers had originally been set to clash with the cancelled Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
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