Gunther Steiner looks favorably upon McLaren’s hiring of Gianpiero Lambiase in Formula 1. According to the former Haas boss, this only shows how the papaya team is building for the long term in the category.
Read more F1: Fans bet on Red Bull comeback starting from Miami GP
Recently, the paddock was caught by surprise with the announcement of Max Verstappen’s engineer leaving Red Bull at the end of the 2027 season. In his new team, he will report directly to Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal.
Speaking about the situation in an interview with the Drive to Wynn podcast, Steiner suggested that Red Bull would likely opt to dismiss Lambiase as soon as possible, or put him on ‘gardening leave’, and how McLaren is already making plans for the future.
“I think he will leave Red Bull very soon, and maybe even get a spot at McLaren sooner, but they won’t keep him around, and obviously that’s also a motivating factor,” Steiner said.
Read more F1: Piastri approves adjustments to 2026 rules
“Knowing you’re going somewhere else is always difficult. Obviously, you want to do a good job, but is your heart 100% in it? Maybe only 99%. Sometimes that’s not enough in Formula 1, especially in the situation they are in now, so they will find the best way forward and then decide what to do with GP.”
“McLaren is thinking long-term and that’s very smart, because Will Courtenay, coming from Red Bull, is also there. He’s a very good guy and they have a very strong team of drivers. They are hiring experienced people, but still young enough to have the necessary motivation. These are not people thinking about retirement, no, they still want to race and win, so it’s a very, very smart strategy,” he continued.
“But, as I said before, McLaren has won in the last two years, and if you have success, you want to work for a winning team, and that’s how you attract great talent. That’s where they want to be in the future. You see that your own team is no longer the dominant one, so where do I want to go? To the best team that has the opportunity. They didn’t go to a small team, they went to the team that was the best in the last two years,” he concluded.
