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Tom Hart is set to replace GianPiero Lambiase as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull race engineer for the F1 2027 season, it has emerged.
It comes after the Red Bull performance engineer opted against a move to Williams to remain with Red Bull.
Tom Hart to replace GianPiero Lambiase as Red Bull race engineer
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McLaren announced the signing of Lambiase, Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016, in April.
According to McLaren, Lambiase, who also acts as Red Bull’s head of racing, is to join his new team in the role of chief racing officer ‘no later’ than 2028.
As first reported by Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Hart is set to step into Lambiase’s shoes as race engineer on Verstappen’s side of the Red Bull garage next season.
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Hart had been set to join Williams as Alex Albon’s new race engineer at Williams before an agreement was struck between Laurent Mekies and James Vowles for him to remain at Red Bull.
Red Bull did not respond to PlanetF1.com’s request for comment.
It is said that Hart, who has gained experience as a race engineer during tests with Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda over recent weeks, could stand in for Lambiase at a few races this year to ensure a smooth transition for 2027.
He previously deputised for Lambiase in practice at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
The news of Hart’s decision to stay at Red Bull comes after Mekies teased at last month’s Austrian Grand Prix that some staff had “changed their mind and are staying with us” amid concerns that others could follow Lambiase through the exit door.
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “There are a lot of rumours about the team and the team personnel.
“And as much as we have commented on GP, because obviously he’s very exposed, he’s one of our very exposed engineers and he’s going into an even more exposed role, I don’t think it will be right for me to comment on every single rumour that comes out.
“If I look at the names that have been circulating in the last few months, most of them are still in the garage.
“Some had never wanted to leave, some have changed their mind and are staying with us.
“So I don’t think it will be fair for our people through the ranks that I start commenting about these guys.
“There is nothing more important to us than making sure we are in a position to keep our talents and to attract the ones we need and that remains the highest priority.”
Hart first joined Red Bull in 2012 following a stint as a political researcher, rising to the role of performance engineer ahead of the 2020 season.
It remains to be seen whether he will work with Verstappen in 2027, with the four-time world champion understood to be in talks with McLaren over a potential switch.
Although he is officially under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028, it is understood that an exit clause will allow him to leave Red Bull if he is lower than second in the drivers’ standings at the summer break.
Verstappen currently sits seventh, trailing second-place Lewis Hamilton by 68 points with just one race remaining before the August shutdown.
A final decision on his future is expected in due course.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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