2026 Formula 1 Drivers threadFormula 1 

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Dreadmed
Woke up this morning to see reports from multiple outlets (van Haren/Sky Sports/BBC) that Gianpiero Lambiase aka GP is jumping ship to Mclaren next year:

www.bbc.co.uk

Max Verstappen's Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to join McLaren

Red Bull's Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's race engineer, agrees to join McLaren from 2028.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Now it seems like it's a question of when Max decides to begin his sabbatical (permanent or otherwise) rather than if...
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Oh wow. That's huge.
 
Dreadmed
Woke up this morning to see reports from multiple outlets (van Haren/Sky Sports/BBC) that Gianpiero Lambiase aka GP is jumping ship to Mclaren next year:

www.bbc.co.uk

Max Verstappen's Red Bull engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to join McLaren

Red Bull's Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's race engineer, agrees to join McLaren from 2028.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Now it seems like it's a question of when Max decides to begin his sabbatical (permanent or otherwise) rather than if...
Click to expand...
I saw that in my feed this morning as well. Poor max ( sarcasm )
 
He will soon inherit Alonso's long distant stare.
 
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I have no doubt that Verstappen's management is out there negotiating with other teams, but whether they actually pull the trigger is hard to say.

For Verstappen, he'd be joining a team with people he already knows who were poached from Red Bull. Make a huge amount of money, would likely have a better car, and would also have opportunities in sports cars once he's done with F1.

As for Piastri, I think the whole papaya rules fiasco really damaged his relationship with the team. It probably doesn't help that his manager is one of the most famously outspoken former number 2 drivers in F1. He's also Red Bull's first choice as a replacement.

I'm all for the swap happening. It would be very interesting to see Norris and Verstappen in the same car. And Piastri gets a fresh start in another big team.
 
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Fezzik
Max/Oscar swap - yay or nay?
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That would be crazy but hey I didn't think Lewis was ever going to Ferrari but it happened so I guess weirder things have happened.

But to see Max at Mclaren after all this time with Red Bull would be so weird 😂
Considering how cringy things got because of how Mclaren handled things last season between their 2 so called #1 drivers, I can't wait to see what that dynamic would be like with Lando and Max in the same car/team.

Oscar might just get what his manager wants for him, the "#1" driver that is if he can beat Isack because that kid is doing a damn fine work in that second red bull car.

Lastly, wasn't there a rumour regarding Red Bull trying to get Lando to partner Max? And now it might actually be Max getting pulled to partner Norris at Mclaren? The silly season is always so funny 😆
 
It’s a crazy thought. The door to Mercedes might be closed because Toto (imo rightfully) thinks he has the next Verstappen and probably wants another Bottas long term (which George is not and that’s why they are treating him the way they do) and not anther Verstappen.
So maybe McLaren is the next logical choice?
 
GlamFM
It’s a crazy thought. The door to Mercedes might be closed because Toto (imo rightfully) thinks he has the next Verstappen and probably wants another Bottas long term (which George is not and that’s why they are treating him the way they do) and not anther Verstappen.
So maybe McLaren is the next logical choice?
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McLaren already has Norris too, though. Max is not significantly better then Norris, and he's 2 years older then Norris. I don't think you could have both those egos on the same team without one of them wanting out very quickly

Just staying at Red Bull for now seems like the way to go. He could add some cool things into his contract like letting him do the LM 24 etc which should keep him somewhat happy even if they dont have the fastest car


Colton Herta is not doing well in F2, which surprises me. I thought he would be running consistently in the top 10 minimum, but he's running around 15th every race now. He's just behind his teammate, so I think a big part of the issue is the team isn't very good this year. I think Cadillac is better off letting him run a second year in the series to see if he improves instead of pushing him to F1 next year, unless he shows alot of improvement through the second half of the year. Haters will say he is overrated, when the reality is he soundly beat Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson as teammates in Indycar. He's beaten guys who've been in F1, but thats in an Indycar. Hes struggling with the Pirelli tires maybe
 

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