P1 with Matt and Tommy - Verstappen’s race engineer is LEAVING Red Bull for McLaren… what happens next?

Episode Date: April 9, 2026

Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren in a multimillion pound deal - but is that because their team principal Andrea Stella looks set to join Ferrari?!We react to some seismic news that could signal the start of some big changes across the F1 paddock over the next few seasons. So what could GP be tasked with at McLaren? Are Red Bull in trouble? And what does this mean for Max Verstappen? There are only a handful of tickets left for our Delusion Tour live shows in Australia next month! Most are sold out, grab any last tickets here: https://tix.to/p1ausSign up to our Patreon for just $5 a month! You'll get access to every P1 episode ad-free, extended versions of every 2026 race review, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. You thought we'd gone. But no, emergency podcast. And it's got nothing to do with drivers, or maybe it will. But this is big. Jampieri Lambiasi, otherwise known as GP, is leaving Red Bull. And this could have pretty huge consequences for the rest of the F1 grid, the personnel, a lot of moves. this could be another domino, Tommy.

It could absolutely be another domino effect of the whole of Formula One, which is brilliant because a little behind the scenes bit of info we recorded our 2029 prediction. And right at the end, I said, can't wait for a massive domino effect now to happen. And sure enough, literally the day after, it begins. So, yeah, here we are. Now, if you're wondering why a race engineer leaving deserves an emergency podcast, Well, it's been heavily reported that he has signed a huge multi-million pound deal with McLaren for 2028, which could see him not just joining, but becoming team principal,

which is absolute madness. Did not expect this on a random midweek chill day. And it's just, it's like, boom. I think the first person I saw post about it was Kim Ilman. And then it's all sort of just come out since. then. And what a step up that would be, and to McLaren of all teams as well. So if you're unaware, you know, if you're new to Formula One or whatever, let me give you a little bit of a background of who Jampiero Lambiasi is. So basically he is Max Verstappen's race engineer at Red Bull and has been

since 2016. And they've been lauded as a great partnership similar to Lewis Hamilton and Bono. So they are an iconic Formula One duo. And, I mean, we'll get on to Max Verstappen. This is not his news, but I feel like it might well give us some indication of what's maybe going on in his life. So let's get into our first thoughts on GP leaving Red Bull. As I kind of mentioned, I'm pretty shocked to sort of see this just so randomly. I've noticed in the reports that both McLaren and Red Bull have declined to comment as of right now. That's always confirmed then.

It was not supposed to come out because I don't think this kind of news was probably ready to go and not just by the way this GP moved to McLaren but the domino effect that we've mentioned means that of course Andrea Stella who is the team principal

of McLaren there are rumours that he has already signed this pre-contract to go to Ferrari as team principal now of course he has had Wow. He's had a lovely tie with Ferrari in the past.

He's worked with Michael Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, but more notably Fernando Alonzo as his sort of, because there's so many different terms. Yeah, he was the race engineer as well. Yeah, for Fernando Alonzo. He was the one on the radio, so basically the GP to Alonzo when they're at Ferrari. So it's crazy, isn't it, how it moves?

And there is this trend now of ever since maybe there's this kind of era where you had very front-facing, confident team principles that were like these big personalities and maybe didn't come from that engineering background. It now seems like everyone wants an engineer as their team principal. I don't know whether that is because of what an amazing job ever since Steiner left and Kamatsu came in at Haas. The kind of started and then you saw that happening kind of elsewhere on the grid

and all these engineers coming in. How have you dropped Kamatsu, but not daddy? Val's. I mean, come on. How's Daddy Val's not being, you know, forefront of your mind? Because he is for me at all times. Well, because maybe they're not doing... Oh, what? Because Williams aren't doing so great. Okay, fair enough, fair enough. But he has obviously, you know, another one of those engineers that's come in as a team principal. And it's really fascinating that the GP has gone of all teams to McLaren, the team that were, you know, Max and GP's biggest rivals in that championship fight last year

and it just shows that they see a lot in him as the next guy to potentially lead a team and take a really big role in a team and McLaren have obviously seen that and like much of the Formula One grid and a lot recently and particularly seems to be Red Bull losing a lot of people they've lost many to McLaren obviously Rob Marshall was a key figure who they lost to McLaren in the first place that many believers kind of turned McLaren's fortune around and why they're so quick and were so good to win those championships and then of course you know the everything of that whole team blowing up anyway with the Adrian Nui leaving and Wheatley leaving and Horneau being sacked and all this kind of stuff and Marco going. crazy to think it's another huge name at Red Bull going. It's got me wondering as well, which was,

which piece was it that was the first to move? Because as much as this is a GP-centered bit of like an announcement, right? I'm almost wondering whether Andrea Stella has signed for Ferrari first, which has then led for McLaren to look for someone to replace him, because that would make, that's like a more sensible decision for Andrea Stella, who of course, you know, has a lot of love for Ferrari, clearly, to go there for potentially 2028. Again, that's not been confirmed.

I mean, this is also reported. Red Bull and McLaren haven't actually said anything right now. But I'm kind of leaning more towards maybe that's what the case has been. And then McLaren have sort of been scrambling around trying to figure out, right, or who is going to lead the team in this next phase of McLaren. And yeah, I mean, it feels like a massive step up. And I think it is, right? It is a bit of a bet on GP to go from, you know,

this fantastic race engineer for a four-time world champion to leading a team. It's a conversation we've had in the past about Adrian Newey. Of course, he is phenomenal at creating, building a car aerodynamically, just so, so in tune. But then running a team full of thousands of people is a very, different job. And so that is probably a big learning curve for GP and also a big moment for McLaren. You have to feel as well with it being halfway through the regulations potentially at this point unless we've torn them all up, put V-10s in the back of them and got for sustainable

who knows the meetings today. Yeah, well, there you go. We might have multiple emergency podcast depending on what comes out. But that's kind of where I'm sitting at the moment. that it is a big shake-up and I would say more so on the McLaren side because of this big role that GP has to feel because Andrea Stella has done an unbelievable job since taking the role of team principle.

I think some people quite rightly get confused as to who does what a McLaren because Zach Brown is the one that always does the interviews but he takes away, I guess he loves the spotlight let's be real here. We've seen the latest series of Drive to Survive. My guy loves the camera. But in a way, you know, it feeds Zach's ego and things like that.

But it also does take away the pressure from Andrea Estella most of the time, unless Ted gets a microphone in front of him after a race. And so you wonder if that same dynamic will be the case once GP goes there. Well, yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure Adrian Newe would love that for a Zach Brown, Lawrence Stroll-like character to be the one that's facing all these questions about Aston Martin right now and eases some of that pressure off. him. So yeah, you do you do think I do tend to agree with you. There'll be talk of, of course, a lot of people will get into this later about does this say anything about Max and what Max's

future is going. I do see more it on the side of the dominoes have fallen from potentially stellar moving and everything's fallen into place rather than it being a, oh my God, Max is this, this means Max is 100% retiring and he's gone. and GP's leaving as well, because of course, this is, this is a GP not joining immediately either as well. It's him joining for 2028, which is when Max Verstappen's contract ends with Red Bull as well. Whether you could maybe take that of Max is not going to continue beyond that. I don't know, but I don't feel like this is a reaction to Max Verstappen news, is my initial thought. Okay. Don't jump the gun, Tommy.

We've got a question about it. You're so eager to talk about your boy and you need to hold fire. Let's get into some questions. Firstly, from P1 Patreon member Daniel 2606. Where does Andrea Estella go then? And if he does go to a different team, does he bring Lando with him because he is out of contract at the end of 2027? So the reports are that Andrea Estella will go to Ferrari.

My boy, Fred. Where's Fred going? Yeah, what's he doing? What's Fred getting up to? Who's he taking? charge of because we all love Fred. Fred's lovely. And he's done all right at Ferrari. Like he hasn't, we haven't won a championship since he's, he's been in charge. But I have, but not many have. Shut up. But like, I, I like just the vibe that he brings to Ferrari. So,

you know, my, my, my thoughts are with Fred. Of course, these are not confirmed right now, but it would would make a lot of sense with the fact that Andrea Estella has this previous experience at Ferrari and then maybe a natural progression for him I mean that would be I think quite a cool thing for Andrea Stella to have been you know a race engineer do some awesome things with Michael Schumacher

at the end of his Ferrari tenure but then also Fernando Alonzo to then leave the team and then come back and be in charge of the whole thing I think that would be quite a power move for Andrea Stella and probably something he'd love to put on his CV as for the Lando thing

I think this is completely separate This is not a Lando and Andrea Stella hand in hand, wherever you go, I go kind of relationship. I really don't see it like that. I think that there are enough pieces still in the McLaren puzzle that Lando would still feel very comfortable staying at the team that he's been with the entirety of his Formula One career. So if Andrea Stella goes to Ferrari,

I personally don't see Lando following him. There's plenty more things to fall into place than just a team principal moving because there might not be a space at Ferrari and we've already spoken previously about Olly Bearman being lined up for Ferrari so I don't see Lando moving at all and not because of Andrea

it would be more down to the car performance and if McLaren are really really struggling at the end of 2027 then Lando as a world champion looks around at the driver market yeah I really don't see Lando and Stella leaving together at all if it was you know Zach Brown

going elsewhere. At the end of the day, he's like, Lando, Lando's his boy and stuff, and they, they kind of, feels like they, they kind of more suited to, to leave and go together and work together in a different team than Stella and Lando. I don't, I don't see that, that kind of dynamic there, a feeling like Lando would, would move on. You know, Andrea Stella, I don't feel like had any particular leniency towards Lando or Oscar, you know, that you could say that like, would Stella take Oscar as well? There's all these things, but I do think this is just a genuine move of Stella wanting to, this is happening that he wants to go to Ferrari,

the team that he's been with a very long time. And there is always that lure of Ferrari, even if, you know, I guess you could say that he's won with McLaren now. He's won that championship. but for him, I'm sure there's no great achievement to think of him, being a long employee of Ferrari and working there for a very long time with Michael Schumacher, for him to lead them to win a world championship of him as team principal would be surely like his ultimate career goal, you'd think.

So I don't think it's necessarily about bringing drivers with him. I do, does feel like Lando in particular, you can't really see, leaving McLaren for a long time. No, no, definitely not. He's very much in love with that team. So with them being competitive, I don't think he has any reason to leave. Question from P1 Patriot member, AMG Piper.

Does this show that Red Bull are not the powerhouse they once were? I think this can happen anyway, even when they were the amazing team that they were and winning. They lost Rob Marshall. This was before the crazy. kind of ongoings of the Horner situation.

But even then, after that, you know, Newee's gone, Wheatley's gone, as we mentioned previously. And I don't think it really says much about Red Bull. I do think that this isn't, I still think they're very much in Struggle Town. And it makes me question, yeah, when he leaves, is Max going to want to like stick around and have a new engineer like what's the deal there.

But I don't think this is necessarily like this could have easily happened anyway, even if Red Bull were still like a pretty strong team. You see people leaving top teams all the time and going to another rival top team. So Red Bull are not the powerhouse they once were. And I do fully believe they're going to struggle a lot this season. It's going to take them a lot to like return. but I don't feel like that is the underlining reason why GP's gone here. It's probably because, you know, he wants a new challenge in a new team

and has been offered a massive role and a lot of money to go to, you know, a legendary team like McLaren. And what an amazing thing to do as probably something you dream of when you're, or maybe not even be able to dream of as an engineer to think that one day you will run and be like team principal and like the big boss of the team. And what a turnaround as well, it's been for GP. You know, he's, we saw, was it last year at the end of the season, he was crying on the pit wall, we were all questioning on what's going on there.

Is he leaving the sport? There were personal reasons that were floating around as well. And now it looks as if he's going to be the team principal of McLaren in 2028. So for him, it's a phenomenal career trajectory. As for Red Bull's trajectory, not looking so great. They've lost so many key figures. But this is what happens, right? It happens with any team that has once dominated,

that they go from looking completely bulletproof, unstoppable to then having this erosion. And this is... McLaren, perfect example. McLaren, I mean, Ferrari, don't want to talk about it, but there's so many examples that, as much as they look untouchable, Formula One teams when they're winning,

it's just not the case. So for them, they are very much now in a rebuilding phase. I'm really interested to see who they now respond with. Who do they hire to fill the shoes of GP and other members within those sort of key roles at Red Bull? So it's obviously very concerning. I think this era regulation for Red Bull does look like it might well be a bit of a write-off, especially with how far behind they are at the moment.

So they might well go to hibernation. to be their chassis that is the main issue rather than the engine, which is the opposite to what we thought was going to happen. You do wonder as well with that Red Bull side that you were talking about is, are they going to struggle now to attract people to that team when you hear all this turmoil of like all these people have left? Max Lassapan isn't happy and wants to leave. We've had so many talks about if Max leaves who is, can they get a big name in? Will they be able to do that? And then if they are stuck in the midfield, are they going to be able to attract these enormous names

that can help turn them around? Maybe not, because every other team up and down the grid are going to be doing that. And there's people that are having a much better time of it. And there's this whole perception of everything that happened with Horn. I think the ship has definitely been steadied now, but that it was not the best.

best place to be and now, yeah, are they going to be able to attract big names when it feels like they are on that, as you say, like a downward slope? Time will tell. Time will tell and I think if they lose that final piece, the Max Verstappen, then yeah, they are in serious dire straits because we've joked about it, you know, last year and things, you know, Red Bull would be towards the back without Max and that might well be the case. I mean, to be fair, even with Max this year, he's not been able to really get anywhere near the front. Speaking of Max, let's go to a question for P1 Patreon member, Jen. Is this confirmation that Max is leaving F1?

No, this is not confirmation of Max leaving F1. As much as Max and GP are a dynamic duo, it does not mean they have to follow each other for the entirety of their career. GP has had, exactly, baby girl, me and you. so cutesy. But, you know, GP has had

clearly this incredible offer put in front of him and the same with Tommy. If he got a multi-million pound deal to just...

I'd be hosting McLaren podcast in a heartbeat. Exactly. You know, as much as he said 10 seconds ago that we were done

that much of... But Max, he's not going to follow GP everywhere he goes. Max is not going to go to McLaren in 2028,

clip it up. This is what happens and this is, glad we haven't just recorded our 2029 prediction. Yeah, really good, really good. But then again, to be fair, no spoilers,

but neither of us put him in a certain team. But yeah, I think for GP, it was just a phenomenal opportunity. He's going to take it. I'm sure Max is absolutely elated for him. You know, they're really good friends. They're like brothers, the two of them. So I think it's completely irrelevant in the sense of, you know, whether Max will leave F1.

I do think there is some tells here that Max might not be at Red Bull, there is still obviously a very big possibility that Max isn't in F1 yes there's a possibility of that it's not confirmation by any stretch of the imagination because we know how much he loves racing and if Formula One can fix their regulations to a degree in which it actually becomes enjoyable

for most drivers then Max may not want to leave and then he might sniff around the fastest car so it is not as heavily linked as I think so that's where I kind of sit on it that Max might still leave but not because GP's gone somewhere else. I can understand why people's maybe first thought of this news is

oh my God Max is going. This confirms it. I don't think that's the case. Maybe does back up the fact that he's probably going to at the very least leave Red Bull when his contract ends. I can't see him going past it. He's kind of

alluded to that anyway, particularly if these regulations don't change and he's not happy with it. He sees out that he leaves either the sport or go somewhere else and then GP is elsewhere. So in my head it is Max leaving before the 2028 season. Is that correct? His contract is until 2028. This is always the weird grey area of like, does that mean he's in there at 2028?

But I think it is until 202028, which, in my head means he's not doing 2028. And if that is the case, then this makes sense that, you know, Max isn't going to have just one year with a random... No, you're trying to rubbish. Until the end of the 2028 season. It is till the end of the 28th. So he will have, if he does see out that contract,

he will basically need a new engineer, won't it, basically? Of course, we don't yet to know, because it's just being reported that it's going to happen, whether there's gardening leave and all this kind of stuff. So when he will actually go, we don't know yet. But I don't think this is Max leaving Formula One just because this news has appeared. And also contracts mean absolutely nothing,

especially if you're Max Verstappen and you have an exit clause where if your car is 20 kilograms overweight and only challenging for ninth behind Pierre Gasly, I'm sure you can get out of that and not have to do it. Yeah, I don't think that's second in, it's very heavily rumoured that if he's below second in the champion, chip. I think that's safe. Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen.

Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I take that with a pinch of salt. I think the end of 2028, he'll go whenever he wants to go. And I think Red Ball would also honour that. If Max is like, I'm done. Guys, honestly, I absolutely hate it here. I hate the regulations. Then, you know, he'll go.

And I think Red Bull, you know, Max has done a lot for Red Bull. And if there is a clause in there, then there's not much they can do about it. So there you go. I guess we haven't really touched upon where Fred would go. We've just kind of thrown the question into the atmosphere of where he would go. I hope he doesn't retire. That would be sad. I would like to see Fred.

How old is Fred? Let's have a look. Let's have a look. He is. He's 57. My guy is 57. Like, he's a spring chicken. He is.

So, realistically, he needs to start. looking around. Well, there is talk, of course, just because he's going, say if Stella does become Team Principal doesn't necessarily mean that he's like fired from Ferrari because I'd be amazed if Fred

left Ferrari or got fired from Ferrari and they were like, no, we're not happy. You don't want to take a demotion though, do you? But maybe he's could it depends. Maybe if he doesn't want to do Formula One anymore he might go off and run their like WEC program or something and cover like that's that side of thing and maybe that's something more that he wants to I don't get that feeling about him wanting to sack off F1 and go do other motorsport that sounds

more like Max Verstappen mate to be honest with you so we will see how it all unfolds I'm sure that as we speak the PR teams at Red Bull McClaren are going so do we announce it Do we not announce it? Do we announce it? Do we not announce it? This is like Hamilton going to Ferrari before any team was ready to say anything about it, because this did not come from official sources immediately. And as of recording, we're still waiting to see that. So yeah, a bit of news, bit of emergency podding. I hope you've enjoyed it. I hope you're enjoying your spring break. We're heading off to Australia in a matter of a couple of weeks. So please, if you haven't already and you live in Australia or can get to Australia and you want to come to a P1 live show where it's Vibe. and it's our first live show where we can proper slag off the regulations with no recording. So I'm looking forward to that. But Tommy, final thoughts, please? Final thoughts is, yeah, what a mad start to the day and seeing all these kind of changes in Formula One. I did not see it happening because, you know, we've not even mentioned in this one that the whole weekly situation hasn't even happened yet in terms of him going to Aston,

and that was heavily rumoured. What's happening there? The kind of shake-ups of team principles at the moment seems absolutely crazy. And is Horner going to come back? And what's happening to Wheatley? He's... Just drop the check and we'll see. Drop the check.

Okay. I think you have to drop the check. Anyway, right. Thank you, everybody. We'll see you. See you lots soon. Lots of love. Forgotten out of podcast.

So just leave me. Sweet dreams. All right. I'm going back to sleep for two weeks. We'll see you. Yeah, thanks. Tommy's done my, there we go. Cool.

Bye, everyone. Bye. P1 is a Stack production and part of the ACAST creator network.