David Coulthard has expressed doubts about the possibility of Gianpiero Lambiase staying at Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen until 2027, before his already announced move to McLaren.
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The former Scottish driver, now a TV consultant (photo above), highlights the complications inherent to the Italian engineer’s contractual situation and his future departure to McLaren.
According to him, even if Lambiase still has to fulfill part of his contract at Red Bull, the transition period could quickly become delicate to manage, especially due to confidentiality issues and technical know-how in Formula 1.
A long period of “gardening leave”
Coulthard explains that an engineer of this level cannot simply leave a team with data, but inevitably retains a deep knowledge of working methods and technical directions. This creates, according to him, a grey area where Red Bull might gradually limit his involvement in the development of the 2027 cars and beyond to protect its interests.
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This situation, still according to Coulthard, risks causing a form of progressive tension between the two parties, as Lambiase would become less integrated into the most strategic projects while remaining under contract. Conversely, suspending him while imposing a non-compete obligation for a fairly long period, what the English call “gardening leave,” to prevent any transfer of sensitive information to his next team.
Ongoing negotiations?
He also believes that McLaren could seek to obtain an early release of Lambiase, possibly by waiving part of his remaining salary, to integrate him earlier into their own project. However, he points out that Red Bull would have little interest in facilitating the premature departure of such a key member to a direct competitor, which would make the situation potentially conflictual and difficult to resolve simply.
In the recent past, another transfer had already caused a standoff between the two teams over the services of Rob Marshall, the chief designer responsible for McLaren’s victories over the past two seasons who was previously Adrian Newey’s direct deputy at Milton Keynes.
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