Red Bull confirm Tom Hart will engineer Verstappen in Austin, Brazil and Vegas as Lambiase handover begins

Max Verstappen will have a new voice on his radio at the United States Grand Prix. Red Bull has confirmed that Tom Hart will be his race engineer in Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas, taking over from Gianpiero Lambiase for those three races. It is the first fixed step in handing over F1's best-known driver-engineer partnership before Lambiase moves to McLaren. The confirmation came a day after Verstappen won his first Singapore Grand Prix, with Lambiase beside him on the podium.

What Red Bull have confirmed

Red Bull confirmed the plan to Autosport after the Singapore race on 11 October, and Dutch outlet GPblog reported the same. Hart will run Verstappen's car from the pit wall at three of the six remaining rounds: the US Grand Prix (23-25 October), the Sao Paulo Grand Prix (6-8 November) and the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

Lambiase will still travel to those races. He will work in his other role as Red Bull's head of racing. The team has not said when Hart will take over for good. That depends on talks between Red Bull and McLaren about when Lambiase starts in Woking and how long his gardening leave lasts.

Who is Tom Hart?

Hart is an engineer who has been part of Verstappen's engineering group for years, including as his performance engineer. He has already stood in for Lambiase, including in a practice session at Monza this season. He had agreed to join Williams as Alex Albon's race engineer. Red Bull reversed that move after Verstappen made clear internally whom he wanted as Lambiase's successor.

Lambiase's McLaren move

McLaren announced in April that Lambiase will join as Chief Racing Officer, reporting to team principal Andrea Stella, no later than 2028. McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said he hopes Lambiase can start earlier, but no date has been agreed. Lambiase has engineered Verstappen through all four of his world titles, from 2021 to 2024.

Singapore: a fitting send-off?

Verstappen's radio barely worked during the Singapore Grand Prix. He could hear the team, but his replies were unintelligible, so Lambiase asked him to answer some questions by staying silent or pressing the radio button. Verstappen joked afterwards: "Maybe GP was happy that it was not working!" Team principal Laurent Mekies said the fault was on Red Bull's side and that the team would fix it.

Red Bull then sent Lambiase onto the podium with Verstappen, which surprised the Dutchman. He said it was special to share a podium together at a track where they had never won before. Lambiase is still scheduled to engineer Verstappen at some of the remaining races, so Singapore was not necessarily their last podium together.

Key takeaways

• Red Bull confirmed that Tom Hart will be Verstappen's race engineer in Austin, Sao Paulo and Las Vegas.
• Gianpiero Lambiase stays at those races in his role as Red Bull's head of racing.
• Lambiase joins McLaren as Chief Racing Officer no later than 2028. His start date is still being negotiated.
• Hart nearly left for Williams before Red Bull kept him as Lambiase's successor.
• Lambiase joined Verstappen on the Singapore podium after their first win together at Marina Bay.

FAQ

Is Gianpiero Lambiase leaving Red Bull now? No. He remains at Red Bull and will attend the Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas weekends as head of racing. He moves to McLaren later, no later than 2028, on a date still being discussed.

Has Tom Hart worked with Verstappen before? Yes. He has been part of Verstappen's engineering team for years, including as performance engineer, and has filled in on the radio before, including at Monza this season.

When is the US Grand Prix in Malaysia time? The race starts at 3pm local time on Sunday, 25 October, which is 4am on Monday, 26 October, in Malaysia.

Sources: Autosport, GPblog, RacingNews365, GPFans, F1 Oversteer