Tom Hart to deputise for Lambiase at three of Verstappen’s final six 2026 races

Tom Hart will deputise for Gianpiero Lambiase as Max Verstappen’s race engineer at three of the final six Grands Prix of 2026, starting at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Hart will also take the role in São Paulo and Las Vegas; Lambiase is scheduled to remain in his usual position at Mexico City, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Lambiase is preparing to join McLaren as chief racing officer and will gradually scale back his pit-wall duties. He will still be with Red Bull during Hart’s three assignments, working in his broader role as head of racing.

Hart has worked as a performance engineer in Verstappen’s garage since the start of 2020, alongside Lambiase on car set-up and data. In 2026, Red Bull expanded his remit to senior performance engineer across both cars. He has gained race-engineering experience during tests and filming days and has taken charge of free-practice sessions in that capacity.

Earlier in 2026, Hart came close to joining Williams as Alex Albon’s race engineer, but the move fell through.

Whether Hart becomes Verstappen’s full-time race engineer in 2027 has not been officially confirmed. The timing is understood to depend partly on when Lambiase’s McLaren contract begins; negotiations are reportedly still ongoing.