Max Verstappen makes his feelings known about the importance of Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase in his overall racing setup

Gianpiero Lambiase, aka GP, has been Max Verstappen's full-time race engineer at Red Bull, and the two have worked together for almost a decade at the top league of racing. With the pair having a close relationship, the Dutchman opened up about how the Brit plays a crucial role on race weekends for readying up his car the way that he likes it.

The 44-year-old has partnered with Verstappen at the top league of racing since 2016, when Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull. Since then, Lambiase has been the right-hand of the Dutchman every time he steps into an F1 car, apart from a one-off earlier in the year.

Taking on hundreds of race weekends together has helped Lambiase understand the way Verstappen wants a car to behave during a Grand Prix. Talking about how he doesn't even need to communicate what he wants from a car, as GP understands his car should be set up in a certain way already, the four-time champion said:

"If you would tell me right now, like you need to swap race engineer. I think that's a very difficult thing to accept just because of when you have a good relationship with your engineer. I almost don't need to speak because he knows exactly what I need or want from the car. And I think you can hear it on the radio. Of course, we have our fiery comments here and there." (6:17 onwards)

Max Verstappen has only had two full-time race engineers in his F1 career, with Xevi Pujolar being his first companion during his time at Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), before the Dutchman moved to Red Bull mid-way through 2016.

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Max Verstappen talks about the key factor that helps a race engineer and driver build understanding

Gianpiero Lambiase (L) and Max Verstappen (R) at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen's relationship with GP has often been marked by fans as one of the strongest driver-race engineer relationships. Though they have had their few run-ins over the radio, the two have maintained a warm bond with each other.

Talking about how building a comfortable relationship is difficult for a new race engineer with a driver, the 27-year-old told Red Bull Academy driver Alisha Palmoski and Rokt CEO Bruce Buchanan:

"With a race engineer, it's not always the easiest, especially when you're new. So I think the more time you get to spend, time together, during a race weekend or when you're practicing on the simulator, going for dinners, you know, just also a bit outside of the racing environment, just getting to know the person, I think that always helps." (6:59 onwards)

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen returned to the podium at the Dutch GP after a drought of four race weekends, ending his longest spell without one since the start of the 2018 season.