Max Verstappen’s Race Engineer Reveals Why the Duo Are a Good Team Despite Not Being Meant for Each Other

A year before Gianpiero Lambiase became Max Verstappen’s race engineer, he joined the team to fill the position for Sebastian Vettel. Once Verstappen and Lambiase united in 2016, the duo formed a close friendship and understand each other well.

The Driver-Engineer duo have become increasingly famous for their disagreements and arguments over the radio, with them often being labeled a ‘married couple.’

The latest of these arguments took place during the Belgian GP before the silly season hit. At the end of Q2, Verstappen qualified for Q3 in P10, resulting in a blowup.

Gianpiero Lambiase and Max Verstappen are the perfect duo in F1

Per a recent report by GPToday.net, Lambiase dived deeper into his relationship with current world champ Max Verstappen. The race engineer claimed both he and the driver share similar personalities, which makes for a pleasant work environment. He also elaborated on the building blocks of the relationship between a driver and his engineer, with trust being the most important pillar.

“The cooperation between the driver and his engineer is based on trust. The more direct a driver is, the more he trusts the team. From personal experience, I know that when a driver stops giving his honest opinions about the car and goes around it, you have lost him. Max is direct, I am direct. That makes working with him pleasant, straightforward, and easy.”

Lambiase also compared Verstappen to other drivers and pinpointed how the Dutchman stands apart from the crowd. While some drivers think about analyzing the race data in detail, others let their team do all the work. However, Verstappen belongs to neither of those categories, as he is always aware of what he is doing with the car and when and where he pushes it to the limit.

Verstappen has equal respect for Lambiase

After the Belgian Grand Prix, express.co.uk quizzed Max Verstappen over his race engineer. The two-time champion said he and Lambiase know each other very well and have a “very good relationship.” Addressing the altercation during the Belgian GP, Verstappen added they were both having a good time, but the engineer had to act seriously. The Dutchman also credited Lambiase for all the positive results the team has recently achieved.

After qualifying P1 in Q3 at the Belgian GP, the Dutchman found his cool and quickly apologized to his race engineer for his earlier rant, as reported by Marca. The gap between Verstappen and Leclerc impressed him at the end of Q3, as he sought Lambiase’s forgiveness after their blowup.