Max Verstappen and Tom Hart completed their first race weekend together at Austin, and despite radio gremlins that turned communication into what Red Bull called a "disaster," the team came away encouraged. Hart is Gianpiero Lambiase's successor, and Red Bull is phasing him in now because Lambiase is McLaren-bound — latest by 2028, though Zak Brown wants him far sooner. Brown made that clear with a paddock power-move in Madrid, holding a public sit-down with Lambiase to turn up the heat on negotiations. Red Bull isn't budging yet. Lambiase's contract runs through 2026, and the team needs him on hand at least until new head of racing Tom McCullough arrives from Aston Martin in January. Hart and Lambiase will split the remaining races this season. Hart takes the wheel full-time in 2027. Red Bull knows you can't rebuild the Verstappen-Lambiase dynamic overnight, but the Austin debut, messy as it was, marked the start.
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