Max Verstappen‘s race engineer knows exactly when to push and when to back off – it’s all about reading the room when your “room” is moving at 300+ kilometers per hour.
Gianpiero Lambiase, who’s been in Verstappen’s ear since 2016, says there’s a delicate balance to being a race engineer. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and let the driver do their thing.
“When you’re talking to someone who’s basically flying at 300 kilometers per hour in one of the most intense situations imaginable, you need to know your place,” Lambiase told Motorsport.com.
Their radio exchanges have become famous in F1 circles, with Lambiase being one of the few people who can be straight-up with the three-time world champion.
But even with their tight relationship, Lambiase knows when to hold back.
“Sure, we’re a team, but at certain moments the engineer needs to take a backseat,” he explains. “Getting into an argument at those speeds? That’s just asking for trouble.”
The partnership between these two has been rock solid for almost nine years now – pretty much Verstappen’s entire Red Bull career.
It’s such a strong bond that Verstappen once claimed he’d quit F1 if Lambiase ever left, though his engineer brushed those comments off with a laugh.
Their relationship has clearly been a winning formula. Verstappen’s dominated the sport lately, and having a race engineer who knows exactly when to speak up – and when to shut up – has been a big part of that success.
