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Newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen revealed to the media the terms under which he would leave the sport for good.
Surprisingly, Max Verstappen revealed that his career depended on that of his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. After winning the title, the first-time world champion told the media that if he can't work with his race engineer any longer, he'll stop competing.
The Dutchman won his first drivers' championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December last year. The monumental victory for Verstappen, and the sport as a whole, left fans speculating about his rival Lewis Hamilton's potential retirement. Reminiscent of Nico Rosberg's unexpected departure from Formula 1, the same conversation was surprisingly taking place about the newly crowned champion.
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport, Max Verstappen said:
“I told him, when he decides to quit, I’ll leave Formula 1 too. I only want to work with him.”
“It is unbelievable how well we work together. Of course, we can be pretty strict with each other sometimes, but I want that too. He has to tell me when I’m being a jerk and I have to tell him. I always told him that.”
“He can tell me that on the radio as well, but it’s been going really well lately. The last few years I tried to be the engineer and he tried to be the driver.”
After a nail-biting battle with Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, Max Verstappen won his first Formula One World Championship. After an eight-year absence, the 24-year-old has returned the trophy to Red Bull, putting an end to Mercedes' hybrid dominance.
Keeping calm under pressure key to Max Verstappen-Gianpiero Lambiase relationship
Max Verstappen may have claimed the importance of his race engineer when it comes to his career. Fans, however, were left intrigued as to what it is about their bond that makes the newly-crowned champion willing to retire from F1 for good if they can't work together anymore.
Verstappen was paired with his current race engineer when he was promoted to Red Bull in mid-2016. Born in London to Italian parents, Gianpiero Lambiase previously worked with Vitantonio Liuzzi, Paul Di Resta, and Sergio Perez at Force India before joining Red Bull.
The pair appear to have clicked right away, with the Dutchman admitting that Lambiase, whom he affectionately refers to as GP, is crucial to his success. Emphasizing the fact that his race engineer always finds a way to remain calm, Max Verstappen said:
“I have a lot of respect of sometimes how calm he stays.”
“When you’re in the car your heart rate goes up, you’re under pressure. Sometimes you have your moments where you speak up or raise your voice, but then if you also have from the other side someone raising their voice, you can end up in a massive argument on the radio while driving, which I don’t think is good.”
People at Red Bull are also pleased with the collaboration, according to Max Verstappen. Dr. Helmut Marko, for example, is said to be half-smiling as he listens in on their conversations during each race.
Speaking about the 78-year-old advisor to the Red Bull team, Verstappen said:
“Helmut always thinks it’s very nice too. Of course, he is also listening on my side and he finds it very nice how we communicate with each other.”
The Race Engineer's job is to act as a go-between for the team and the driver. They serve as the driver's single point of contact while he is in the car, acting as a second set of eyes and ears, informing him about the situation on the track.
They are also the factory's main point of contact for learning about driver feedback from the car and doing everything possible to provide maximum performance to his driver and ensure a smooth, successful race weekend. Race engineers are among the team members who have the closest relationship with the driver, so much so that some drivers take their race engineer with them when switching teams.
Other race engineer-driver combinations have also become quite iconic in the sport. One of the most famous pairs in F1 is that of Brazilian driver Felipe Massa and his British race engineer Rob Smedley. Smedley was with Massa when the two came tantalizingly close to winning the world title in 2008. The Briton is best known for his "Felipe baby, stay cool" remarks at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix.
More recently, the sport has seen the pair of Lewis Hamilton and his race engineer Peter Bonnington. Bono, as Bonnington is referred to by Hamilton, has been by the seven-time world champion's side through many races, with the famous "Get in there, Lewis!" after another win or pole. Unlike the Max Verstappen-GP partnership that has only just begun, the Lewis Hamilton-Bono partnership has already won six world championships.
