Zak Brown has responded to questions over whether McLaren’s signing of Gianpiero Lambiase could open up the possibility of recruiting Max Verstappen in the future, following the announcement that the Dutchman’s race engineer will join the papaya squad when his Red Bull contract expires in 2028.
Lambiase – known to many as GP – has acted as Verstappen’s race engineer since the four-time World Champion’s promotion to Red Bull in 2016, the pair having formed a close and successful partnership over the years since.
However, their time together at the Milton Keynes-based outfit will come to a close when Lambiase – who is also Head of Racing at Red Bull – departs for his new position as Chief Racing Officer at McLaren in 2028, a move that was announced during the recent April break.
Verstappen has voiced his support for Lambiase’s decision, stating that he is “very happy for him” as well as praising the chemistry they shared whilst working together, something that he feels is “very rare in racing”.
As such, during an interview with Sky Sports F1 at the Miami Grand Prix, Brown was asked if Lambiase’s impending arrival at McLaren could open the door for Verstappen to follow further down the line.
“I couldn’t be happier with our driver line-up,” Brown responded. “Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] are not only two awesome guys, on the track, off the track, but as team mates, which is so much I think what’s made McLaren successful here – [it’s] the chemistry that we have in the garage, at the factory, with our pit wall, all throughout the racing team.
“I couldn’t be happier with what we have, and zero intention in changing.”
Pushed on whether Verstappen would be at the top of the list should a vacancy ever arise in the driver line-up, Brown answered: “He’s an awesome racing driver, so if a gap opened up that’s a different conversation, of course.
“When you see the talent that he has, yeah, and if you were looking for a racing driver, I think there are a lot of great racing drivers out there. Charles Leclerc’s doing an amazing job, it’s great to see Lewis [Hamilton] back on form. Kimi [Antonelli]’s doing a great job, George [Russell] is a great driver, but look at what Kimi is doing here.
“I almost kind of feel like he’s the championship favourite, sitting here at the moment, but we see how quickly things swing in this sport. But yeah, I’m happy with what I’ve got, so I hope I’m not looking for a driver.”
Both Norris and Piastri hold multi-year deals at McLaren, with Norris now into his eighth season racing for the papaya outfit while Piastri has been on board since his rookie campaign in 2023.
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