Max Verstappen has had a relentless season, securing race win after race win. It’s safe to say he hasn’t put a foot wrong in 2023. Well, mostly. More often than not, the radio messages between him and Red Bull went like this: “Thank you, guys. The car was amazing to drive,” or “The car was an absolute rocketship,” or “Max, you’re a three-time world champion. That’s unbelievable.” With the season the formidable duo of Verstappen and Red Bull has had, you would expect the comms between Verstappen and the pit wall to be along these lines. That’s not a surprise. What is a surprise? Verstappen has put a step or two wrong and got put in place for it.

While Verstappen’s radio back-and-forth has majorly been positive in 2023, there have also been the occasional “I’d ask you to use your head a bit more” or “Max, please follow my instruction and trust it.” Guess who they came from? Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (GP).

Max Verstappen wants a tangible memory of GP after 2023

The best highlight to come from Verstappen’s season hasn’t been his near-invincible form. While that is a significant highlight, what takes the cake are his conversations (and banter and occasional rage) with GP. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said, “Gianpiero is simply not afraid to speak his mind. The dynamic between the two is so intense that in between, you have to ask yourself who is supposed to be the driver and who is supposed to be the engineer here.” The relationship between a driver and their race engineer is crucial, and it’s safe to say Verstappen and GP have it all figured out.

There may be times when things get heated between them. Case in point: qualifying at the Belgian GP. Verstappen was nearly eliminated from Q2, and he wasn’t happy about it. He blamed GP for a “sh*t execution,” screaming on the radio. When he finished his rant, GP said, “And then when the track was two seconds quicker on the final lap, and you had no energy left, how would that have gone down?” After GP put Verstappen in his place and the Dutchman secured pole position, he apologized, “Sorry to GP for being so on a rant.” GP hilariously said, “Slowly getting used to it, Max.” 

As fun as every third person has had listening to Max and GP go at it, the three-time champion has liked it just as much. In an interview with Channel 4, David Coulthard asked Verstappen if he enjoyed his back-and-forths with GP. To show just how much he enjoyed conversations with GP, He came up with an excellent idea. He said, “I think I definitely need to try and speak to marketing. They have to put a compilation together at the end of the year with all our radio messages throughout the year.” Oh, wouldn’t we all love that?

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Horner has said multiple times that GP is the only person Verstappen listens to. For the Dutchman, there’s no higher authority at Red Bull than his engineer. Considering their respect for each other and occasional banter and fights, Horner couldn’t help but make a hilarious comparison.

Verstappen and Lambiase are “made for each other”

One of the first instances of GP and Verstappen banter this season happened at the Spanish GP. Verstappen was on his way to winning the race comfortably but wanted to secure a Grand Slam. He needed the fastest lap but already had warnings for track limits. Despite GP’s advice to just bring the car home, Verstappen put in the fastest lap. After that lap, GP not-so-subtly told Max to stay within the limits (both the tracks and his). Talking about this to the media after the race, Horner said, “The relationship between Verstappen and Lambiase is similar to that of an old married couple arguing about what to watch on television.”

Horner isn’t the only one who feels they’re a good combination. Perfect, in fact. F1 commentator David Crof made a similar observation after the Belgian GP. He said, “I think GP and Max are made for each other. They are the best possible combination for each other. He doesn’t accept nonsense from Max, but he understands that his driver can be irritable at times and wants to be in control. He understands that, has patience, takes it all in, and puts Max in his place in a way that respects Max. There is a lot of mutual respect. They work fantastically well together, and they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Do you think Red Bull marketing will follow through and give Max Verstappen (and everyone else) what they want?

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