Ahead of the progress shown in Miami, the opening weeks of the 2026 season had not been easy for Red Bull. While the new power unit surprised some of its rivals in the paddock, the picture on the chassis and aero side initially proved underwhelming.
Moreover, news emerged that Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s right-hand man and also Red Bull’s Head of Racing, will leave the team for McLaren in 2028. His departure fits into a broader trend of key figures leaving the team, something team boss Laurent Mekies openly acknowledged in Miami.
When Red Bull’s current engine partner Ford returned to Formula 1, Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook emphasised that the American manufacturer likes to apply a similar approach across all championships it takes part in: not a works team, but joining forces with the best teams in a given racing series.
Since that announcement, however, quite a lot has changed at Red Bull, raising the question of how Ford now views the state of the team.
“I think Red Bull showed their character, what the team is capable of, many times through history,” Rushbrook said during an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.
“Let’s take last year as an example. Everybody counted them out of the championship, and look how close it was in the end and what they were able to achieve in that. So that was just a demonstration again of what they are capable of.”
Despite the technical regulations now being completely different, that gives Ford confidence for the current season and the years ahead.
“It’s the same thing here. A lot of people are saying, well, Red Bull is behind. And sure, that’s what we’ve seen on track so far, but we’re not discouraged by that. If anything, collectively we’re energised by that because Red Bull and Ford want to be racing at the front.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
Ford got reassurances from Red Bull about Lambiase’s departure
Besides the regulations, the personnel changes form a second factor. In addition to Lambiase, the team has already had to replace Rob Marshall, Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey, Will Courtenay, besides Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.
It raises the question of how many departures a team can absorb altogether, but Rushbrook says he is not immediately worried on that front either.
“They’ve got the right people, the right culture. And even with personnel changes, I know that creates a lot of excitement in the media and maybe other places, but I think that’s part of the sport,” he said.
“Not that we necessarily wanted to see any of those people go, but it’s about how you react to that.”
According to the American, the latter is more important than the departures themselves: how does the team ultimately deal with them?
“There’s always some concern when you see somebody leaving. Why are they leaving? What does it actually mean to the team?,” he added.
“So it’s not that it’s not important, but you react to those things, just like anything else in racing, or even in life. When things happen, it’s all about how you react to them and stay strong.”
Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images
In Lambiase’s case, Red Bull still has some time to think about succession planning. Moreover, there appeared to be little chance for the Milton Keynes-based team to keep him on board for longer. Verstappen even said that, considering McLaren’s offer, he “would have been an idiot” if he had tried to keep Lambiase at Red Bull.
Verstappen revealed that the race engineer had spoken to him long before the announcement, and according to Rushbrook, Red Bull did exactly the same with Ford as a partner. Asked whether the American company received certain reassurances regarding how Red Bull will handle this next departure, he replied: “Yes, exactly, for sure.”
“Would hate to see Max go, but wouldn’t change our commitment to F1”
Besides all the aforementioned team members, there is another variable that seems to return every year: Verstappen’s own future.
The four-time world champion has been vocal about the regulations during the opening months of 2026 and added in Miami that his views on the rules have not changed because of Red Bull’s recent progress. Moreover, he said that he wants to take his time regarding the “life choices” he referred to in Japan.
“I completely understand the driver’s perspective and Max’s perspective,” Rushbrook responded. “The drivers, they’re the ones in the car and dealing with the technology and how it impacts the racing.”
“But we’ve seen that the sport is willing to talk about those issues internally amongst the teams and to react to it, and take steps to address it. I think as long as the sport is willing to do that and that we do address those things together, then hopefully everybody is happy and they stay in the sport.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Nobody wants to see Max leave or any of the current drivers, because they are part of the personality of the sport. So we want them to be happy, we want them engaged and excited about the racing that they’re doing, because that makes the fans even more excited about it.”
But should Verstappen leave after all — either by switching from Red Bull to another team or by leaving F1 altogether — Rushbrook stresses that Ford’s position would not change: “We came to Formula 1 to be in Formula 1 and we chose Red Bull because of who they are as a team, as a culture, not any single individual.
“And again, we love Max, we love the fact that he’s racing in a Red Bull Ford powered vehicle. We would hate to see him leave, but that wouldn’t change our commitment to the sport.”
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