The possibility of a major change in Formula 1 involving Max Verstappen, gained strength again after a surprising prediction from Giedo van der Garde. The former F1 driver believes that the four-time champion will leave Red Bull Racing, even before his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who already has a defined departure to McLaren in 2028.
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This statement comes after the confirmation that Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer during his time at Red Bull so far, will go to McLaren from 2028 to take on a role in the team’s senior management. The move represents the end of an extremely successful partnership that resulted in four titles in the category.
Commenting on the situation in his column in Formule 1 Magazine, Van der Garde was asked who would leave Red Bull first, Verstappen or Lambiase. The former driver was direct in pointing to the four-time champion as the first to leave: “I’m betting on Max. Red Bull doesn’t have its affairs in order, and Max wants a car with which he can win races and titles. It’s that simple. I also think Max will take the next step after this season,” he stated.
The former driver’s assessment reflects doubts about the team’s competitiveness. According to him, Red Bull has not been able to maintain the dominance of previous seasons. Under the command of boss Laurent Mekies, there was an improvement in the second half of last year, but the team again lost performance this year, with the introduction of new regulations and its own power unit, produced by Red Bull Powertrains-Ford.
Van der Garde also commented on Lambiase’s decision to accept the opportunity at McLaren and showed understanding with the choice. For him, it is a natural evolution in the Italian engineer’s career: “First of all, it’s a wonderful opportunity for Lambiase. If you can grow into a leadership role in a top team like McLaren, you have to grab that chance with both hands,” he said.
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The former driver also highlighted the relationship of loyalty between Lambiase, Verstappen and the driver’s family: “Lambiase completely deserves it. Not only do I think so, but the Verstappens do too. Lambiase has always been very loyal to Max, and they had a fantastic period together, with four titles as a result.”
Even with the transfer already defined to a direct competitor, Van der Garde believes that Red Bull should maintain the current partnership until the last moment: “Despite knowing that Lambiase is going to a direct competitor, I believe he should continue performing his current role until the last day,” he added.
Finally, the Dutchman reinforced the engineer’s importance to the team and to Verstappen: “He is a valuable asset to the team and to Max. If Red Bull is sensible, it will keep this collaboration intact for as long as possible,” he concluded.
