Red Bull has chosen Tom Hart as Max Verstappen's next Formula 1 race engineer, succeeding Gianpiero Lambiase who will depart for McLaren at the end of their agreement.
According to a report from Dutch journalist Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf, Hart will step into the role when Lambiase leaves Milton Keynes to become McLaren's chief racing officer from the 2028 season. Hart, who has served as Verstappen's performance engineer since 2020, was initially scheduled to leave Red Bull for Williams but performed a dramatic U-turn after team principals Laurent Mekies (Red Bull) and James Vowles (Williams) reached a late agreement.
The promotion of performance engineers to the race engineer role is not unprecedented in F1 — Mercedes followed a similar path when Marcus Dudley, formerly Lewis Hamilton's performance engineer, was promoted to become George Russell's race engineer in 2023.
Lambiase's departure marks the end of one of the most decorated driver-engineer partnerships in the sport's history. The British engineer has been the voice in Verstappen's ear throughout all four of his world championship titles, helping orchestrate 63 grand prix victories and building a camaraderie that became the envy of the pit lane.
Verstappen himself gave his blessing to Lambiase's move earlier this season at the Miami Grand Prix, stating: "I was very happy for him. We are still working together this year, next year. Times change in your career and that was a really good opportunity for him."
The Dutchman's own future at Red Bull remains a subject of intense speculation. Despite being under contract until the end of 2028, Verstappen holds a performance clause that would allow him to leave at the end of the current season. However, manager Raymond Vermeulen recently indicated the four-time champion's intention is to honour his deal with the energy drinks giant.
Even in the event of Verstappen's departure, Hart would still assume the race engineer role at Red Bull, underscoring the team's long-term planning.
Sources
- https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101393/1/red-bull-chooses-max-verstappens-new-f1-race-engineer-after-gianpiero-lambiase
