Max Verstappen confirms Gianpiero Lambiase successor at Red Bull

Max Verstappen has personally confirmed that Tom Hart will succeed Gianpiero Lambiase as his race engineer at Red Bull, with the four-time F1 drivers' champion making the announcement ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lambiase, widely known in paddock circles as GP, has served as Verstappen's race engineer since the Dutchman joined Red Bull, becoming one of the most recognisable partnerships in the sport.

That relationship will come to an end, however, with Lambiase set to depart for McLaren by 2028 at the latest, leaving Red Bull to identify a replacement.

Hart, who has worked as Verstappen's performance engineer for several years, had appeared to be heading to Williams before ultimately choosing to remain at the team.

Reports emerged during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that he would step into Lambiase's role, and Verstappen has now confirmed as much.

Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen explained how the decision came about. "In the end, it was known that GP was leaving," he said. "So we thought long and hard about what we wanted to do. I got a sense that Tom actually really wanted to stay, but in a different role.

"Around Miami you start having the conversation of: what do you think of this idea or that idea? I could already tell he was getting enthusiastic. We just need to figure out when the right moment is to start involving Tom more."

For Verstappen, the qualities that matter most in an engineer go beyond raw technical ability.

"There are a lot of good engineers, but I've always felt that you shouldn't be too much of a nerd," he added.

"You need to understand racing itself. Just staring at a laptop, I can do that myself. You need to have the insight to read things properly, the way GP obviously does."

The timing of Hart's increased involvement has yet to be confirmed, with Lambiase still currently in the role alongside Verstappen.