F1 News: Ferrari tried to poach Verstappen's engineer Lambiase

(GMM) Max Verstappen’s well-known race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, has reportedly turned down offers from both Ferrari and McLaren.

Corriere dello Sport claims Gianpiero Lambiase, otherwise known as ‘GP’, was approached with the enticing offer to become Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer at the Maranello based team from 2025.

World Drivers Champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing poses for a photo with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase in the Pitlane after the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on October 07, 2023 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

He apparently turned down that offer, with other reports suggesting he also said ‘no’ to McLaren.

Referring to Ferrari’s rejected offer, Corriere dello Sport reported: “Several names have said no and declined the honor, including Lambiase, for whose arrival Vasseur strongly advocated for.”

It was just the latest in a series of successful and unsuccessful attempts by Red Bull’s rivals to poach key staff, like sporting director Jonathan Wheatley who will leave to become the new team boss at Audi.

Dr Helmut Marko said Red Bull simply couldn’t compete with the offer.

“He (Wheatley) started as a mechanic and has an incredible career, which he can be very proud of, and he wanted a position that was more demanding for him,” he told the Inside Line podcast.

“Unfortunately, the offer came from Audi, which we couldn’t match, whether because of the position or the money they offered him. I understand him, he went for his opportunity.”

It is now rumored that Red Bull may have been able to fend off Ferrari’s attempt to poach Lambiase, 43, by offering him some of Wheatley’s duties.

“We have a team with many young people and we have the opportunity to assign Jonathan’s role to other people and we believe that we can manage this situation internally,” Marko said.