Will Max Verstappen ditch Red Bull to follow Gianpiero Lambiase to McLaren?

According to Johnny Herbert, a move to McLaren would not only make sense, but it may already be aligning behind the scenes. With Gianpiero Lambiase set to join McLaren in 2027, the strongest pillar of Verstappen’s Red Bull success could soon be gone. Herbert believes that changes everything.

Red Bull’s once mighty aura has taken a hit. Key personnel have departed. Performance under the new 2026 engine regulations has been inconsistent. The once dominant operation is now showing cracks. Perhaps even considering a shift from sponsor and F1 constructor to a sponsor simply.

Speaking to Grand Prix luxury hospitality specialists, Vision4Sport, Herbert laid out the scale of the concern: “Red Bull are facing a real predicament with everybody they have lost and are losing and potentially losing the biggest asset of all in Max Verstappen.

“It’s becoming an issue for them. They were always able to attract drivers because they were the team that had that certain swagger about them. The success that has come their way for many years now is starting to fizzle out, crumble if you like.”

The Le Mans and Grand Prix winner, Herbert, warned the identity that made Red Bull unique is fading: “Now they’re losing that ‘something different’ and they're just becoming very close, although not quite yet, but very close to certain names like Lotus, like Tyrrell, like BRM, like many of the old teams that vanished.”

At the centre of the speculation is the Verstappen Lambiase relationship, widely regarded as one of the strongest driver-engineer pairings in modern Formula 1.

Herbert explained why that bond matters so much: “The race engineer has always been a very important part of your connection from your office seat in the cockpit to the external side.

"Max has said in the past how important that is to have someone you can trust. Trust is a big thing when it comes to everything that happens in an F1 car.”

The British motorsport veteran pointed to historical precedent, invoking Michael Schumacher’s move from Benetton to Ferrari: “That’s what Max and Lambiase have got at the moment. They’ve got that relationship that is very, very strong. With all that, I’d be very surprised if they didn’t want to work with each other again.”

For Herbert, McLaren presents the most logical destination. Performance, structure, and now personnel alignment are all falling into place: “A move to McLaren makes sense. They seem to be the car that is dominating. So you're still able to win pretty much everything so far. That would seem to be a perfect fit for him.”

But the appeal goes beyond Formula 1. McLaren’s hypercar programme could unlock a broader racing ambition for Verstappen.

“With Max it’s not just about having the right car,” Herbert explained. “If he’s allowed to do those other forms of racing and get the thrill that he needs as a whole package, that’s why I think McLaren could well make sense for him.”

“McLaren have a hypercar. So could that be part of any package that they might offer Max at Le Mans as well as still doing Formula 1? Maybe," Herbert reckoned.

Any Verstappen move would come at a cost. McLaren currently boast one of the strongest driver lineups on the grid with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but Herbert made it clear that success does not guarantee security.

“It’s happened before,” Herbert said. “Damon Hill was told in the year he won the 1996 World Championship that he wasn’t going to be with the team the next year. So you’re never guaranteed just by winning that you are going to be the man that they want in the seat.”

Despite the speculation, Verstappen is not under immediate pressure to decide. His leverage remains unmatched, said Herbert: “He hasn’t got to make his mind up now,. He’s in a very good position. If Max Verstappen became available any team would be foolish not to take him.”

The bigger question is motivation. The 2026 regulations have already triggered visible frustration from Verstappen, who has repeatedly questioned the lack of “buzz” in the current generation of cars. That opens the door to more radical scenarios.

“Does he do a sabbatical between doing WEC with McLaren? That could be an interesting one,” Herbert suggested.

The combination is compelling. A declining Red Bull. A trusted engineer is moving elsewhere. A dominant McLaren. And a driver openly questioning the sport’s direction. Herbert’s conclusion is clear: “You can see why he would be moving because he feels it’s something fresh, something that would reignite the spark.”

As the troubled 2026 Formula 1 season unfolds and Red Bull continue to search for answers, the question is no longer hypothetical.

It is whether Verstappen, with a RBR contract until the end of 2028, is already preparing for life after Red Bull, and whether McLaren, with Lambiase heading there at the end of 2027, is the sweetener that makes it all click into place in a couple of years time. Watch this space!