MAX VERSTAPPEN'S ENGINEER MAY QUIT IF RED BULL FOLLOW THROUGH ON CHRISTIAN HORNER STANCE

Gianpiero Lambiase has hinted he would quit Red Bull if driver Max Verstappen were to walk away from the team.

Lambiase has been Verstappen's race engineer since he joined the team as a teenager in 2016. He previously worked with Daniil Kvyat but stayed in his role when the Russian racer was replaced mid-season by Verstappen.

They have since gone on to win three drivers' titles together. And, even though conversations between them over the radio often sound tense, they get along very well.

So strong is their bond, Lambiase says he would not want to work with anyone else in the future. "I honestly see Max as a younger brother," he told the BBC.

"We can talk about anything and anyone at any time. We're at the point where we just felt completely relaxed and at ease with each other. Maybe I am speaking out of turn, but I don't think I would have any interest in working with another driver now.

"Having had the success that we have enjoyed together with Max, working with one of the greatest talents that the sport has ever seen, I don't think it would be fair on another driver, from their perspective or mine, to try and replicate what we have achieved with Max."

That stance indicates Lambiase would be willing to walk away from the team and join Verstappen if the Dutchman left for a rival outfit. The 26-year-old has a contract until 2028 and keeps winning with Red Bull, but it seems there are still circumstances in which he would consider quitting.

Earlier this month, he said he would do so if long-time ally Helmut Marko, special adviser to Red Bull Racing, were to leave. Verstappen's support for the 80-year-old Austrian has strengthened his position amid his ongoing battle behind the scenes with team principal Christian Horner.

Marko and Horner have worked together for approaching two decades but fell out badly towards the end of last year. The Austrian has been working to have Horner removed from his position, but the latter has the support of Red Bull majority owner Chalerm Yoodivhya and, now, company CEOs in Salzburg.

Mirror Sport understands that, if it comes to a choice between keeping Horner or Verstappen, Red Bull would prefer their star driver to leave. Should it come to that, it appears head of race engineering Lambiase would be willing to follow.

2024-03-27T11:33:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd