Max Verstappen won his first championship in the 2021 season, and in the process ended Lewis Hamilton’s run of successive championship wins. While the racing was brilliant between Verstappen and Hamilton in 2021, it also got ugly on various occasions. The tensions between the two reached a peak at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which was arguably one of the most contentious races of all time. Even though Verstappen emerged victorious, his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, has now shed some light on the toxicity during the course of that season.
Lambiase has now explained the psychological impact that both Mercedes and Red Bull faced because of the intense competition between the two teams that year. The Italian told De Telegraaf, “You don’t want to experience a year like that again. Competition is only good, but then the battle went much further and it was no longer just about what happened on the asphalt. Then I don’t think it is that healthy anymore”.
Verstappen also shared similar feelings about the eventful 2021 campaign. In a promotional video for Red Bull last season, the Dutchman explained how he never wants to see anyone win a championship on the last lap like he did.
How did Lambiase feel about Verstappen and Hamilton’s season finale?
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had an identical number of points (369.5) after the penultimate race of the 2021 season. Subsequently, their intense rivalry set a record wherein the leading contenders for the championship were starting the race on the same score tally for the first time in fifty years.
Since there was so much on the line coming into the season finale, Gianpiero Lambiase brilliantly described the atmosphere in Abu Dhabi at that time in just a few words. He said, ” It was very intense. I will never forget that weekend in Abu Dhabi, and that Sunday itself.”
Verstappen considers the Italian engineer as one of the most significant contributors to his achievement. Likewise, Lambiase also has the highest amount of respect for the three-time champion and explained how he has a picture of himself and the 26-year-old in the living room of his house. “He said, “It’s not a normal photo, but an abstract painting of us. Let me call it art.”
