Following their highly publicized dispute during qualifying at Spa, the duo once again drew focus with their conversations throughout the Dutchman’s commanding victory on Sunday.
Verstappen had secured the second position after trailing his teammate Sergio Perez, who was leading the race. Lambiase then requested Verstappen to “think strategically,” to which Verstappen responded by asking, “Should both of us [referring to the two drivers] follow that approach?”
Lambiase returned and stated, “Simply adhere to my guidance,” to which Verstappen replied with frustration, asking, “I would like to know if both vehicles are doing it.” His engineer then concluded the conversation firmly, insisting, “Max, please comply with my instruction. Thank you.”
After Verstappen made his second and last pitstop, Lambiase scolded him for jeopardizing the longevity of his final set of tires by pushing too aggressively in an attempt to achieve the quickest lap time.
Max Verstappen had initially secured this position, but Lewis Hamilton managed to snatch it away from him on the final lap of the race while driving for Mercedes.
Verstappen stated that the radio exchanges after his win had a balanced split in his tone, with approximately half of the messages being one way and the other half being the opposite.
“I’m simply frustrated that they are unwilling to make an additional pitstop. Therefore, I aim to make them slightly uneasy, hoping they will consider the possibility of me pushing myself to make another stop.”
Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing race engineer
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
He stated, “I am aware that the team is not fond of making an additional stop, but I feel compelled to bring it up, which may cause them some unease.”
“I appreciate the reply of ‘No, we won’t be doing that today’. That’s perfectly alright. We have a strong bond and a great understanding between us.”
Verstappen also said his relationship with his race engineer was “very important”.
He added that he always considers it a crucial aspect of one’s performance, not just the race engineer but also the individuals in close proximity such as the performance engineer.
Over time, your relationship grows stronger and you become more familiar with each other.
Certainly, removing him or any such action would be highly undesirable.
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