Having fractionally missed out on his fifth F1 world title, Max Verstappen is “very simple, blunt and sincere” in response to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
Crimson Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has supplied uncommon perception into the internal workings of his lengthy‑standing partnership with Max Verstappen, describing a relationship constructed on absolute honesty, emotional resilience, and a shared intolerance for pointless theatrics.
Chatting with the media, Lambiase defined that their communication model is intentionally direct, reflecting each the depth of Components 1 and Verstappen’s personal expectations from the cockpit.
Lambiase was born in 1980 in Bedford, England, to Italian dad and mom, and has spent twenty years in Components 1 and is extensively thought to be some of the influential engineers of the trendy period.
He started his F1 profession in 2005 with Jordan and remained with the Silverstone‑based mostly workforce by its transitions to Midland, Spyker, and Power India, working as a race engineer all through that interval.
His transfer to Crimson Bull Racing in 2014 marked the start of his partnership with Verstappen, whom he has engineered for the reason that Dutchman’s arrival on the workforce in 2016.
Illustrating the strain of race‑day determination‑making with a vivid metaphor, Lambiase added: “You’re on a ship down a river, and also you’re surrounded by an entire load of crocodiles. You’re coping with the closest crocodile to the boat. That’s all we’re doing,” he mentioned.
Lambiase pressured that authenticity is important to the function. “You need to do what is correct for the workforce and driver on the time, and when you begin caring about what you’re saying, then I feel you’re misplaced in showbiz.”
Based on him, any try to melt messages or filter info would undermine the belief required to function on the entrance of the sphere.
Over time, Lambiase has risen by Crimson Bull’s engineering construction, serving as Head of Race Engineering from 2022 and taking up the function of Head of Racing in 2024, all whereas persevering with as Verstappen’s race engineer. His twin tasks replicate each his technical authority and the workforce’s reliance on his judgement throughout excessive‑strain moments.
He described the breadth of tasks he carries throughout a race weekend. “You’re his full circle of pals in a single: a dad, a sports activities psychologist, finest good friend, worst enemy, every little thing,” he mentioned. The remark displays the emotional and psychological load that comes with managing a driver identified for his depth and precision.
Their dynamic has turn into some of the recognisable and efficient partnerships in trendy Components 1. Lambiase has engineered Verstappen to 4 consecutive World Drivers’ Championships from 2021 to 2024, and their radio exchanges — generally terse, usually revealing — have turn into a defining function of Crimson Bull’s race‑day operations.
Collectively, they’ve constructed a relationship that thrives on mutual respect, shared depth, and an unwavering dedication to efficiency.
Lambiase famous that Verstappen’s communication model is famously forthright, however that the world champion expects the identical degree of candour in return. “[Verstappen is] very simple, blunt and sincere, however he expects that related degree of remedy again,” he defined. “For those who attempt to pander to him, wrap him in cotton wool, and attempt to be his finest mate and be that sure‑man, you’ll lose him inside months.”
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