Max Verstappen says he needs “a bit of fire” from his race engineer in order to elevate his game. The Dutchman has been working with Gianpiero Lambiase since making his Red Bull debut in 2016 and the pair have had their fair share of heated back-and-forths on the team radio during that time.
One of their feistiest radio exchanges came during qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix. Both men clashed after Verstappen scraped through to the final Q3 by the skin of his teeth at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, finishing in 10th place.
Verstappen blamed his team for giving him the wrong race tactics as he traded verbal blows with Lambiase in the immediate aftermath. “I f***ing told you we should have done two [fast] laps in a row, like I said. I don’t give a f*** [that I’m through], we were P10. It’s just s*** execution,” shouted Verstappen.
To which, Lambiase replied: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down? But you tell me what you want to do in Q3, and we’ll do it. Sets, fuel, run plan.”
For the uninitiated Verstappen and Lambiase’s relationship may appear strained but the three-time world champion insists this is not the case. “It’s how the relationship works,” Verstappen told Autosport.com. “I would be very, not upset, but I wouldn’t want to have an engineer who is very monotone or just says ‘copy… check that’.
“But that’s our relationship. We are very straightforward and if we don’t like something we of course communicate.” Verstappen also admits that sometimes the F1 cameras paint the wrong picture of his conversations with Lambiase by not airing the exchange in full.
“It’s also a bit F1’s fault [that the messages get so much attention] because they broadcast everything just to throw it out there. They don’t need to broadcast it – if you know what I mean,” he continued. “So, I guess they also like the excitement coming out.
“But, our relationship has never really changed in that manner. And also after the race we are absolutely fine because, of course, we are there to win the race.”
