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T<\/span>he 2026 Formula 1<\/strong> season began with a strong commitment to change.<\/p>\n The new regulations, with lighter cars and a greater presence of electrical energy<\/strong>, opened a different era within the category. But while all this was trying to take shape on the track, off it began to appear signs that did not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n Several drivers began to show their discontent with the adaptation to these changes and, among them, Max Verstappen was one of the most prominent<\/strong>. His feelings did not go unnoticed and, as the weeks went by, rumours began to emerge pointing to a very possible end at the end of the 2026 season<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It was not something confirmed, but it was enough to generate noise in an environment that, until then, seemed to remain stable.<\/p>\n In the midst of this scenario, when everything was still trying to find its balance, news appeared that changed everyone’s expectations.<\/p>\n Gianpiero Lambiase, the race engineer who has accompanied Verstappen<\/strong> since 2016 and the constant voice on his radio, will leave Red Bull Racing in 2028 to join McLaren<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It’s not an immediate change, but it is one that begins to touch a sensitive part of the team.<\/p>\n Because Lambiase has not only been just another engineer, he has been the direct connection with Max, a constant piece in a project that, for years, has been built around someone important<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For Red Bull, Verstappen is not only their main driver, he is the axis around which much of their sporting structure revolves<\/strong> and their projection within the category.<\/p>\n That’s why, when your surroundings start to move, reading is no longer simple.<\/p>\n In 2021, Max himself left a phrase that today takes on another meaning:<\/strong> when his engineer stopped, he would also consider stopping. At the time, it did not seem like a close decision.<\/p>\n Today, with that departure already announced, the context is different.<\/p>\n Added to this is what happens off the track. In 2025, Max became a father alongside Kelly Piquet<\/strong>, in a personal stage that can also influence how he projects his future.<\/p>\n And while none of this defines a decision on its own, together it begins to build a different scenario.<\/p>\n If Max were to decide to change course, whether to another team or even out of Formula 1<\/strong>, the impact would be no less.<\/p>\n It would not only be a matter of losing a driver, it would be a matter of moving the heart of the project<\/strong> and, when that happens, structures that seemed firm begin to come to an end.<\/p>\n For now, everything remains in the realm of possibility, but in a Formula 1 that is already changing on the track, there are off-track moves that are starting to say otherwise.<\/p>\nAnd that’s where the story changes<\/h2>\n