Red Bull Racing and McLaren held a private meeting in Miami after a pointed remark from Laurent Mekies regarding the exact future role of GianPiero Lambiase at McLaren starting in 2028.
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Since the surprise announcement of Lambiase’s future transfer to Woking, speculation had flooded the Miami paddock: some imagined “GP” as the future team principal of McLaren, others already announced a departure of Andrea Stella to Ferrari, or even a new talent exodus from Red Bull.
On Sunday morning, the rumors had grown so much that McLaren CEO Zak Brown went directly to the Red Bull hospitality to discuss with Mekies and the big boss Oliver Mintzlaff. Not a crisis summit, but clearly a clarification meeting.
Friendly conversation
Brown and Mekies finally exchanged directly. Asked after their discussion, Mekies first joked: “It was about Red Bull, Zak just wanted to taste a can of Red Bull!”
But the French boss quickly clarified that neither team wanted to fuel a public controversy: “We talk very often with Zak and with the other leaders. None of us wanted to enter a media ping-pong game. We had a good discussion, as always, then we moved on.”
Officially, the incident therefore seemed closed, with probably an agreement on the exact date of the switch from one team to the other in a form of mutual respect for each other’s interests. But in the paddock, few people think the story will end there.
Mekies also explores the market
Because the departure of such a central figure as Lambiase goes far beyond the simple transfer of an engineer. Historical right-hand man of Max Verstappen, he was one of the most influential voices of Red Bull’s dominant era, at the heart of world titles, controversies, and Sundays under extreme pressure.
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Mekies also insists that Red Bull has been preparing for this type of departure for several years: “We don’t want to be on the defensive because we have lost some talents. It’s a fact, and it has been going on for three or four years.”
The Frenchman nevertheless states that the team continues to rely on internal development while remaining aggressive on the talent market: “We believe we have the best talents in every department”, he explained, notably citing Ben Hodgkinson on the engine side and Pierre Wache for the chassis.
Transfer of brainpower
But Red Bull also does not rule out recruiting from its rivals when certain specific skills become necessary: “If we have to go get experience or particular skills from our dear paddock competitors, we will do it, as we have done before.”
The big teams now compete for another strategic resource: human capital. Engineers, strategists, aerodynamicists, or operations managers become key pieces capable of tipping the balance of power.
Lambiase’s transfer may not cause an immediate earthquake, but in Miami, it was enough to push Red Bull and McLaren to come together around the same table for an urgent discussion. And in Formula 1, this kind of conversation is never trivial.
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