Is Red Bull secretly building a brand new dream team? According to recent reports, the defending F1 champions may have already lined up replacements for two of their most important figures — and the names are turning heads.
First up: race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. The man who’s been Max Verstappen’s right-hand ear on the radio is reportedly heading to McLaren in 2028 to become their chief racing officer. That’s been a tough pill to swallow for Red Bull, especially after a string of high-profile exits — Christian Horner was let go last year, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley moved on, and longtime advisor Helmut Marko is retiring at the end of 2025.
Marko, who helped shape both Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel into four-time champions, leaves giant shoes to fill. But sources claim Red Bull may have found his replacement in Gwen Lagrue — the head of Mercedes’ young driver program. Lagrue is the one who discovered current F2 star Kimi Antonelli, and he could bring that same talent-spotting magic to Milton Keynes.
Meanwhile, Lambiase’s replacement is reportedly already inside the building. Engineer Tom Hart — who was poised to become Alex Albon’s race engineer at Williams next year — is now said to be staying put, with an eye on eventually taking over as Verstappen’s race engineer.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff even addressed the Lagrue rumors last week, telling media: “We’re in discussions with Gwen about the future, but nothing’s been agreed or decided yet.”
So is the Red Bull rebuild quietly gaining momentum — or will these deals fall through? Only time — and the paddock gossip — will tell.
