Jos Verstappen says GianPiero Lambiase is leaving Red Bull for McLaren “because they’re offering him a lot of money.”

It comes days after his son, the Red Bull driver and four-time world champion Max Verstappen, spoke of the “fantastic offer” his race engineer had received from McLaren.

Jos Verstappen: McLaren offering GianPiero Lambiase ‘a lot of money’

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McLaren announced the signing of Lambiase, Verstappen’s long-serving Red Bull race engineer, earlier this month.

The 45-year-old will arrive at McLaren ‘no later’ than 2028 – the point at which his current Red Bull contract is due to expire – in the role of chief racing officer, reporting directly to Stella.

The appointment of Lambiase, who was also approached over a senior role with the Aston Martin team, represents a major coup for McLaren.

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As reported last week by PlanetF1.com, Stella hailed Lambiase’s move as “the classic icing on a cake that already has the right ingredients”, hailing it as a reflection of how “attractive” McLaren has become to the sport’s top talents.

He added that McLaren’s enhanced “credibility” tempted Lambiase to join after the team’s title success over the last two years.

Verstappen Sr revealed shortly after Lambiase’s move was announced that the driver’s camp had encouraged him to “go for it and grab it with both hands.”

In a post to social media, the 54-year-old hinted that Lambiase’s move to McLaren may have been financially motivated too.

Responding to a post suggesting that Stella ‘knows exactly why’ Lambiase swapped Red Bull for McLaren, Verstappen Sr replied: “Because they’re offering him a lot of money.”

Verstappen Sr’s latest interjection comes after his son commented that Lambiase had received “a fantastic offer” from McLaren.

And he revealed that Lambiase had sought his “approval” before accepting a move to Red Bull’s rival.

Addressing Lambiase’s departure for the first time at an event organised by Viaplay last week, Verstappen said: “He told me what kind of offer he’d received.

“I said: ‘You’d be daft not to take it.’

“We’ve already achieved everything together and then he gets such a fantastic offer, especially with his family in mind and the security it would bring him.

“He asked me for my approval, so to speak, and I told him he absolutely had to go for it.

“He really wanted to hear that from me.”

Stella last week laughed off suggestions that Lambiase is being lined up to replace him as team principal amid links of a return to Ferrari.

The Italian previously worked at Ferrari between 2000 and 2014, winning championships with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen and latterly acting as Fernando Alonso’s race engineer, following the two-time world champion to McLaren in 2015.

Stella said that media reports that he had reached a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari had “made me smile.”

PlanetF1.com understands that Lambiase could be positioned to eventually succeed Stella when the role of McLaren team principal next becomes available.

Sources have indicated to PlanetF1.com that Lambiase may have been sold this scenario as part of his move from Red Bull.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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