Former Red Bull mechanic tips 'Verstappen's secret weapon' to leave the team

Ex-Red Bull mechanic Kenny Handkammer has tipped Max Verstappen's 'secret weapon' to be the next senior figure to leave Red Bull following Gianpiero Lambiase.

Red Bull have endured a disastrous start to the new era of Formula 1, with the team languishing in the midfield despite building the closest engine to championship leaders Mercedes.

Four-time world champion Verstappen's best finish to date was in the season opener in Melbourne, with his sixth place being followed up with a DNF and eighth place in China and Japan.

Verstappen's form as well as his vocal criticism of the 2026 regulations has resulted in the Dutchman considering his future in the sport, particularly now race-engineer Lambiase is confirmed to be leaving Red Bull.

Lambiase joins the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, and Will Courtenay to recently leave the team, and according to former mechanic Handkammer, he won't be the last.

Verstappen's 'secret weapon' tipped to leave Red Bull

Speaking on The Two Mechanics podcast, Handkammer claimed that Red Bull's Head of Strategy Hannah Schmitz, could be the next key figure to leave the Milton Keynes based outfit.

“The decline of Red Bull is quite sad. If I were the CEO of Red Bull global, I’d be thinking. Look who he has lost, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Jonathan Wheatley, Gianpiero Lambiase and Will Courtenay.

“It looks like Hannah Schmitz, Head of Strategy, is rumoured to go too, all these massive key people and talks are there’s going to be more. That’s a real head scratcher. How do you reconfigure the team?”

Hannah Schmitz and Max Verstappen in 2025 (credit: getty)

Schmitz joined the team in 2009 in the role of Modelling and Strategy Engineer, and has since worked her way to become arguably the most vital cog in the machine that has won multiple driver and constructor titles.

The now 40-year-old has even been described as his “secret weapon” by Dutch outlet HLN, and Verstappen has been quick to highlight her importance within the team.

Speaking back in 2022, Verstappen praised Schmitz after she played a vital role in his victory from tenth on the grid at the Hungarian grand prix.

“You can’t afford many mistakes. it’s of course very hard to always be on the good side, let’s say it like that but I think we have a lot of good guys and girls in the team," he said.

“Today, I think Hannah, our strategist, was insanely calm. Yeah, she’s very good.”