“Use your head a little more”: tensions between Verstappen and his race engineer at Spa
Despite a eighth consecutive victory in the Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps, Max Verstappen made headlines with his tense radio exchanges with his long-time engineer Gianpiero Lampiase throughout the weekend. However, Christian Horner emphasized that there were no issues.
We know Max Verstappen is very demanding and above all very competitive. It must be said that it takes at least that to win 10 out of the first 12 Grand Prix of the season, but once again this led to real tensions within the Red Bull team in Belgium. Penalized on the starting grid, Verstappen started from sixth place last Sunday in Spa, but that didn’t stop him from securing his eighth consecutive Grand Prix victory. However, the weekend was marked by his heated exchanges over the radio with his team.
A stubborn Verstappen
Dutchman (Max Verstappen) made headlines due to heated radio exchanges with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. The two men had tense communications throughout the race in Belgium, some of which were broadcasted.
During qualifying, already, tension rose when the driver narrowly avoided elimination in Q2 (P10). He didn’t appreciate his team’s plan: “I should have attacked two laps in a row, like I had said! I don’t give a damn if I make it through with a P10! … This poor execution is driving me crazy!”
On several occasions, the Italian criticized Verstappen for a significant use of his tires deemed « unnecessary ».
The double world champion annoyed his team, who believed he was using his tires too aggressively. On the 13th lap, the nicknamed GP deemed it necessary to call his protégé to order. This was followed by a tense exchange, during which Lambiase demanded his driver to use his head a little more and to follow his instructions.
Lambiase and Max, « an old couple » on the road
Finally, the last insult after Lambiase took it back once again after more than 30 laps, the leader of the world championship responded with a reply that sounded ironic, even provocative: “Should I also push and make another pit stop? Should we practice pit stops?” On the other end of the radio, a calmer, perhaps slightly annoyed response, as if to diffuse the situation: “No, not this time.”
Is it just us or are the radios between Max and his engineer tense? 😳#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/MLep7Rzikk
— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) July 30, 2023
There were quite tense communications, but nothing unusual at Red Bull. This is indeed what Gianpiero Lambiase hinted at after the outburst in Q2, and then Verstappen’s apologies at the end of Q3. « We’re slowly getting used to it, Max. »
The boss of the Austrian team wanted to calm down the situation, explaining that they have a great relationship, but we know that Max is a complicated customer. There are no problems between them. Max has a lot of talent, but someone capable of managing him is necessary, described team principal Christian Horner, before concluding with humor, sometimes they are like an old couple.
