Fresh Red Bull tensions emerge with Max Verstappen ally reportedly 'frozen out'

One of Max Verstappen's key allies at Red Bull is reportedly being 'shut out' when it comes to receiving certain information about the team.

Verstappen was on course to record his third consecutive podium in 2026 at Sunday's British Grand Prix when he spun out of the race with five laps remaining.

The Dutchman had repeatedly complained about power unit issues during qualifying and in Saturday's sprint, and even told reporters he would rather "change everything" and start from the pit lane at the British Grand Prix rather than keep the car the same.

From seventh place on the grid, though, Verstappen quickly moved through the field towards podium contention, though he was aided by issues for both Mercedes drivers.

Kimi Antonelli reported a mechanical issue with his steering over team radio, and Mercedes pitted him twice in quick succession before diagnosing the problem as a loose left wheel shield.

George Russell, meanwhile, was told he had a slow puncture while battling Verstappen and had to pit on lap 37, dropping him down the field.

But Verstappen himself then lost control of his Red Bull at Stowe on lap 47 and, while he caught the initial slide, couldn't stop his car from spearing into the gravel trap.

The four-time World hampion remains in seventh place in the Drivers' Championship after what is his third retirement of the season - albeit the other two, in China and Monaco, were down to mechanical issues.

But with speculation refusing to go away about Verstappen potentially moving to McLaren, his future at Red Bull has perhaps never been more uncertain.

McLaren's Lando Norris publicly stated that it was a "good thing" that Verstappen was potentially interested in moving to McLaren.

'No longer shares everything' - New Red Bull tension behind-the-scenes

Meanwhile, Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is leaving Red Bull to join McLaren as their head of engineering.

He will depart once his Red Bull contract expires, but no exact date has been made public. An initial statement confirmed that Lambiase would leave no later than 2028.

De Telegraaf reporter Erik van Haren, who has covered Red Bull extensively during Verstappen's time in the team, has claimed that the team's technical director, Pierre Wache, 'no longer shares everything' with Lambiase given the fact he is departing in the near future.

That has led to, it is claimed, Lambiase not having all the information related to both Red Bull cars, given that he combines his role as race engineer to Verstappen with his position as Head of Racing.

It is not an entirely unexpected scenario, with Red Bull ambassador and former driver David Coulthard warning back in April that there would inevitably come a time where Lambiase would effectively be phased out ahead of joining McLaren.

"Of course, one of the tricky moments for Red Bull is, he can't walk out of the factory with a laptop with all the data at the end of the year. But what's in your mind, you're allowed to take with you," Coulthard said on the 'Up to Speed' podcast.

"So there'll be a point where they're going to want to say: 'Look, you can't really be working on this car. Or you certainly can't be across any of the discussions about developments going into 2027 and beyond'.

"I've been there as a driver where, at the end of 1995, I'd already signed to join McLaren. You still go about the race weekend in a normal fashion, but I wasn't allowed to go into certain areas in the factory. Understandably so.

"What McLaren, I'm sure, would be hoping is that Red Bull would release GP early from his contract, release the obligation to pay his salary and allow him to join McLaren early."