Max Verstappen has voiced his reaction to the bombshell news that Gianpiero Lambiase will depart the Red Bull team.
Lambiase has served as Verstappen’s race engineer since the Dutchman joined the squad shortly after the start of the 2016 season.
Together, the duo have formed one of the most successful driver-engineer partnerships in F1 history.
However, with Lambiase now seeking a new career challenge at McLaren from 2028, the working relationship will come to a close.
Issuing his thoughts on the situation, Verstappen revealed that Lambiase confided in the four-time champion before accepting the offer.
“He told me what kind of offer he’d received,” Verstappen told Viaplay. “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.”
The pairing have formed a successful relationship over the years, with Verstappenwinning four consecutive Drivers’ Championships between 2021 and 2024.
The Dutchman suggested to Ziggo Sport in 2021 that he would ‘stop’ if Lambiase decided to leave the team.
While it is unclear whether those opinions have changed in the five years since, Verstappen did suggest to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Jennie Gow after the Japanese Grand Prix that he was considering his future in the sport over the new 2026 regulations.
Now, in a new interview with Dutch outlet Viaplay, Verstappen has revealed that he was approached by his race engineer and close friend Lambiase with one simple question before he decided to take up the McLaren role.
“He told me what kind of offer he’d received,” Verstappen recalled.
“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 here that from me.”