Max Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase work together brilliantly when it comes to communication and race strategies. Their team effort has contributed substantially to the 26-year-old’s prolonged domination over the past few seasons. However, they too have had their moments of tension. Amidst their recent radio outbursts, Lambiase has finally revealed what can set the two apart.
Lambiase talked extensively about his friendship with Verstappen in a recent interview. The Italian told The Telegraph in a recent interview, “The day that Max and I no longer work together in this setup will be the day that I would like to take on a different challenge“.
🗞️ Interview met Gianpiero Lambiase. Over zijn werk als race-engineer, zijn band met Max Verstappen en hun discussies.
🗣️ “De dag dat Max en ik niet meer met elkaar werken in deze opzet, wordt voor mij de dag dat ik graag een andere uitdaging aanga.”https://t.co/H4p5fECGBt
— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) November 4, 2023
These statements are interesting as only a few days prior, rumors had been circulating that the two did not share an amicable relationship. During the US Grand Prix, the 26-year-old angrily told Lambiase to stop talking to him when he was having trouble with the breaks.
The Dutchman though later provided clarification and eventually denied any rumors about his bad relationship with the Italian, saying instead that they get along perfectly well. Soon after, Lambiase also shared his thoughts on the same.
Gianpiero Lambiase delves deeper into his relationship with Max Verstappen
Since Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase have had so many arguments over the radio, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has often referred to them as an “old married couple“. Even though Lambiase and Verstappen work together now, Red Bull had not planned the same initially.
A interview with Max last year talking about GP and how he came to Red Bull.
“He was promised that he would work with Seb…so he signed. But two weeks later Seb left. We still laugh about it, he got promised to work with seb and ended up with me”
GP was promised to Seb 😭😭
— natalie (@natlouu) June 5, 2023
In an interview from last year, Verstappen disclosed the events that drove Lambiase to choose to work for Red Bull. The three-time champion stated, “He (Lambiase) was promised that he would work with Seb, so he signed. But two weeks later Seb left.”
Lambiase’s dream was ultimately never accomplished since Vettel left the squad to go for Ferrari. However, Lambiase does share an incredible relationship with Verstappen now. The Italian also has an artwork in his living room that features a photo of him and the Dutchman.
