Zak Brown on McLaren's New Recruit Gianpiero Lambiase and Potential Early Move from Red Bull

McLaren's CEO Zak Brown recently expanded on his team's latest high-profile hire: Gianpiero Lambiase from Red Bull, who will take on the role of Chief Racing Officer. Brown emphasized that recruiting Lambiase, known for his work as Max Verstappen's race engineer, was a crucial step in strengthening McLaren's racing team. "My job as CEO is to get the best talent, to think long term," Brown explained. "GP’s a huge talent, and when the opportunity presented itself to strengthen our racing team, we took it."

Lambiase is currently under contract with Red Bull until 2028, but Brown didn't dismiss the idea of an earlier switch. "We know how this game works," he said, acknowledging that having someone set to join a rival team can become awkward. "2028 is when his contract’s through. We'll wait if necessary, but if an earlier transition is possible, we’d be interested."

Brown was candid about the complexities involved when a team member is known to be moving on. "At some point, you start cutting off knowledge that might be sensitive," he noted, recalling similar situations in the past, such as when Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari.

With Lambiase's close ties to Verstappen, speculation naturally turned to whether this move might influence the Dutch driver's future team choices. However, Brown was clear: "I couldn’t be happier with our driver line-up," referring to McLaren's current drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and their strong team chemistry. "I have zero intention of changing what we have," he added.

It’s clear that McLaren is playing a long game, ensuring they have the right people in place for future success. Whether Lambiase joins the team ahead of schedule remains to be seen, but Brown's strategy is undoubtedly focused on building a robust and competitive team for the years ahead.