McLaren is in talks with Red Bull to bring forward Gianpiero Lambiase's move to Woking, according to reports.
The development means Max Verstappen could be without his trusted race engineer for as many as three race weekends towards the tail end of the F1 season.
It was confirmed earlier this year that Lambiase will leave Red Bull for McLaren no later than 2028, where he will take on the role of chief racing officer under team principal Andrea Stella.
At Red Bull, Lambiase served as both head of racing and Verstappen's race engineer throughout the Dutchman's championship-winning years.
Tom Hart being readied as Verstappen's new engineer
From next season, Tom Hart will step in as Verstappen's permanent race engineer. Hart is already being prepared for the role, and RacingNews365 understands he will take full charge of three race weekends in 2026, understood to be Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas.
He was previously given his first outing alongside Verstappen during a practice session at Monza.
Beyond the Hart preparations, De Telegraaf reports that McLaren is actively pushing to shorten Lambiase's gardening leave period.
The team are said to be reluctant for him to sit at home for an entire year before joining, prompting Zak Brown to open discussions with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies over an earlier start date.
The expectation now is that Lambiase will no longer be in Red Bull employment by 2027.
Red Bull have already moved to fill the void on the management side, recently confirming the signing of Tom McCullough as the new head of racing.
The Briton arrives from Aston Martin and slots directly into the role Lambiase vacated within the leadership structure around Mekies.
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