Despite ‘difficult periods’ between the duo, Max Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase ‘get on so well’.
During his time at Red Bull, the Dutchman was known to be fairly loud on the radio, notably against Lambiase.
Lambiase told Verstappen earlier this year to ‘use your head a bit more’ after the world champion defied orders to manage his tyres, instead electing to record blazing lap times when out in front.
During the unique warm-up session ahead of sprint qualifying at the Qatar GP, the pair shared an expletive-laden exchange as Lambiase told the 26-year-old ‘there was more learning’ to be done after Verstappen had aborted his lap early.
Verstappen went on to win his third consecutive world championship during the sprint race, much to the satisfaction of his team.
He has now acknowledged the significance of his friendship with’strong character’ Lambiase.
“[It’s] incredibly important,” Verstappen said to Sky Sports F1.
“I believe a race engineer needs to understand you, and I believe it’s very rare to have such a strong connection with an engineer.”
“We got off to an incredible start, winning our first race together.”
“You have your tough moments as well, because I’m a strong character, he’s a strong character, but that’s what I like because I will say to him when it’s bad and when it’s good, and he says the same to me.” That’s why I believe we get along so well.
“That’s why sometimes we get quite vocal on the radio and then people sometimes think that we don’t like each other but we actually have a lot of respect for each other and we always want the best in every single situation.”
Despite his successes, which have elevated him to the ranks of some of Formula One’s all-time greats, Verstappen still has plenty to learn and improvements to make.
At the age of 26, he has the opportunity to break Lewis Hamilton’s all-time race victory record, and perhaps even challenge Hamilton and Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles.
Verstappen believes that his F1 experience is sufficient to carry him through races without the assistance of Lambiase.
“He really tries to also coach me through the race,” he went on to say.
“Of course, I know a lot of things when I’m driving, but having that voice is always nice.”
“Sometimes in my head while driving I’m like ‘Okay, I know what to do’ but it’s still nice to have him in the background.”
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