Brown reflects on McLaren recruiting ‘huge talent’ Lambiase and whether switch could happen earlier from Red Bull

Zak Brown has spoken of how McLaren seized the opportunity to recruit “huge talent” Gianpiero Lambiase, with the CEO also reflecting on whether the possibility could arise for the switch from Red Bull to take place earlier than when Lambiase’s contract expires in 2028.

It was announced during the gap between races in April that Lambiase – who is currently Head of Racing at Red Bull alongside acting as Max Verstappen’s race engineer – will join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer once he has left the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 during the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Brown was asked if he saw Lambiase’s signing as another coup for McLaren in terms of attracting the best people to the team.

“My job as CEO is to get the best talent, to think long term, to have the most strength on the pit wall or at the factory in design, wherever the case may be,” Brown explained.

“Andrea [Stella] has done a fantastic job, [as have] our technical team, and GP’s a huge talent so when the opportunity presented itself to strengthen our racing team, that’s exactly what we’re going to do, whether it’s a racing driver or an engineer or strategist, whatever the case may be. So I’m very happy he’s going to be joining us.”

Brown then faced questions on whether it might be possible for Lambiase to join sooner than originally set out, with his contract at Red Bull due to expire in 2028.

“We know how this game works,” Brown responded. “At some point it’ll be probably uncomfortable, having someone that you know is going to a rival team.

“I know my general view is if someone wants to move on, you need to do it in a measured way, but if someone doesn’t want to be in my team anymore, I’ve never been one that feels like people steal people from each other. Drivers, sponsors – you lose them or they have interest in something else.

“2028 is when his contract’s through. We’ll wait if that’s what’s necessary – if there’s something to be done earlier then of course we’d be interested, but I think right now we’re all stuck into 2026.”

Brown acknowledges that switching between teams can result in the “uncomfortable situation” of staff at a certain stage no longer being included in certain information, to avoid the risk of anything sensitive being carried over to their next employer.

“When Lewis [Hamilton] went to Ferrari, they announced it early – at some point Mercedes starts understandably cutting off knowledge that he might have and that’s just how the business works,” Brown explained.

“We’ll see how it plays out – we’ve got time, we know we’re all settled for 2026, so we’ll chat about it when the time’s right.”

And with Lambiase having worked closely alongside Verstappen for many years, Brown was also asked if the move could open up the possibility of having the Dutchman at McLaren in the future.

“I couldn’t be happier with our driver line-up,” he stated. “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 is 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.”