Verstappen's Future looks to be at McLaren

According to multiple high-level paddock sources, the Red Bull exodus has reached critical mass — and Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has already signed with McLaren for 2028. That move is being read inside the team as the final green light for Verstappen himself to jump ship.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The technical brain drain is even worse. Rob Marshall — the man many still call the best designer in F1 — is already at McLaren, where he’s widely credited with building the strongest chassis on the grid.

Getting Verstappen will be Zak Brown’s last piece of the pie to make McLaren unbeatable.

Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren looks on from the pit wall during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on April 19, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Peter Fox/LAT Images for McLaren)

Senior performance engineer Will Courtney followed him. And now the knives are out for Pierre Wache, Red Bull’s chief designer, who has delivered another poor-performing chassis in 2026… that’s two straight years of regression. Verstappen is said to be furious and deeply unhappy with the car, privately telling close contacts that “the direction is completely lost.”

The list of major departures is staggering and growing by the week:
– Christian Horner
– Adrian Newey
– Jonathan Wheatley
– Verstappen’s top race mechanic
– …and counting.

The fight to land Verstappen has now erupted into a full-scale bidding war across the paddock. While McLaren holds the clearest inside track thanks to their stacked ex-Red Bull technical team and the genuine off-track friendship with Lando Norris, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is pulling out every stop to lure the Dutch superstar to Brackley. Ferrari is equally desperate and aggressive in the chase—Lewis Hamilton is now deep into his 40s and visibly not the same blistering force he once was, leaving the Scuderia in urgent need of a new alpha driver to carry their championship hopes forward.

Toto Wolff, Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team and Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren talk in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 23, 2025 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for McLaren)

With the backbone of the championship-winning operation gutted and the current car sliding further behind, insiders say the writing is on the wall. The personal chemistry is already in place for a Verstappen move to McLaren: he and Lando Norris are genuine friends away from the track — sim sessions, golf, dinners — and both drivers have openly joked about how much fun it would be to line up as teammates instead of title rivals.

The proposed swap that’s now being seriously discussed? Oscar Piastri heads to Red Bull as the undisputed lead driver.

McLaren would get their dream pairing of Norris and Verstappen. Red Bull would get an ice-cold, proven winner in Piastri to steady the ship. And with Lambiase’s 2028 start date giving everyone breathing room, the negotiations can happen without an immediate firestorm.

Gianpiero Lambiase will soon be in McLaren colors.

The era that defined a generation is collapsing in real time. The fork is in. The Red Bull team, as we knew it, is done.

Buckle up. The 2027–2028 silly season isn’t coming — it’s already here.