[Saba Sports News] With Red Bull confirming that Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will join McLaren before 2028 — which also happens to be the final year of Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull — many have begun to speculate whether this signals a potential future move by Verstappen to McLaren.
Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has even put forward a bold scenario: a team swap between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. According to Montoya, Piastri’s agent Mark Webber is not entirely satisfied with the current situation inside McLaren. Given Webber’s deep-rooted connections with Red Bull, it would make perfect logical sense for Piastri to move to Red Bull while Verstappen joins McLaren.
Against this backdrop, McLaren CEO Zak Brown personally stepped forward to dismiss the rumors, stating that the team has no plans whatsoever to alter its current driver lineup. Brown expressed full satisfaction with the partnership of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. In his view, the two are not only exceptionally quick but also maintain an extremely healthy intra-team relationship — a key reason behind McLaren’s resurgence over the past two seasons. Last season, both Norris and Piastri were in contention for the World Championship simultaneously. Yet throughout the campaign, there was virtually none of the infighting and conflict commonly seen at traditional top-tier teams. The two drivers have consistently shared information and even prioritized team interests at crucial stages of the season. Even so, Brown did not completely rule out future possibilities. When asked if he would be open to signing Verstappen should the opportunity arise down the line, he replied positively.
It can be argued that Zak Brown’s remarks serve both to reassure the team’s current drivers and sponsors, while also leaving room for unforeseen future changes. This is a typical strategic approach adopted by senior F1 management when navigating the driver market.