Gianpiero "GP" Lambiase is a British-Italian Formula 1 engineer who serves as Head of Racing at Oracle Red Bull Racing and continues as Max Verstappen's race engineer, one of the sport's most recognisable driver-engineer partnerships. ¹²

He was born 14 October 1980 in Bedford, England, to Italian parents, and graduated from University College London with a degree in mechanical engineering. ¹

“After the 2021 Abu Dhabi title, Lambiase told him on the radio, "Mate, you absolutely deserve it.”

Early career at Jordan and Force India

Lambiase began his F1 career in 2005 with Jordan, staying with the Silverstone-based team through its successive identities as Midland, Spyker and Force India over roughly 11 years. He was a performance engineer for Giancarlo Fisichella before race-engineering Vitantonio Liuzzi (2010), Paul di Resta (2011-2013) and Sergio Pérez (2014). ¹

Joining Red Bull and partnering Verstappen

In 2015 he moved to Red Bull Racing as race engineer to Daniil Kvyat, and he kept the role when Kvyat was replaced by Max Verstappen during 2016. The pairing became one of F1's most successful, with Lambiase guiding Verstappen to four consecutive World Drivers' Championships from 2021 to 2024. ¹

The voice in Verstappen's ear

Lambiase is widely noted for his direct, no-nonsense radio communication, frequently exchanging sharp words with Verstappen during races — a candid style the driver has repeatedly praised as helping rather than hindering their relationship. The exchanges run from blunt instruction ("use your head") to running jokes, such as the recurring "Godzilla" gag about a lizard on track at Singapore. After the 2021 Abu Dhabi title, Lambiase told him on the radio, "Mate, you absolutely deserve it." Verstappen describes their chemistry as "very rare... a driver and engineer that gel that well together." ¹³⁴

Senior leadership

In 2022 he took on the role of Head of Race Engineering, succeeding Guillaume Rocquelin, while continuing as Verstappen's race engineer. Announced in October 2024 and effective from the start of 2025, he was promoted to Head of Racing following the departure of sporting director Jonathan Wheatley (who left to lead the Audi-bound Sauber team). The expanded role gives him oversight of the race, heritage and car-build departments and coordination of sporting-regulation compliance, reporting to technical director Pierre Waché and team principal Laurent Mekies. ¹⁵

The McLaren move

On 9 April 2026, McLaren announced it had signed Lambiase as Chief Racing Officer, reporting to team principal Andrea Stella. He joins "no later than 2028," after his Red Bull contract expires at the end of 2027; until then Red Bull confirmed "GP continues in his roles as Head of Racing and as Race Engineer to Max Verstappen." The move sparked a public spat when Mekies claimed Lambiase was "going to be a team principal" at McLaren, which CEO Zak Brown flatly dismissed. Verstappen publicly backed his engineer: "it would be stupid from my side to try and hold him back when you get an opportunity like that." ⁶⁷⁸

Bottom line

For now Lambiase remains a cornerstone of Red Bull's trackside operation and the calm-and-combative voice in Verstappen's ear, slated to engineer him through 2026 and 2027 before the McLaren switch. His blend of trackside leadership and a uniquely trusted driver partnership makes his eventual departure one of the more consequential personnel losses of Red Bull's post-Horner reshaping. ¹⁶