Who is Max Verstappen's race engineer for the F1 Austrian GP? All about Gianpiero Lambiase's replacement

For the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen will have Simon Rennie as his race engineer. The Dutchman's long-standing engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set to skip the weekend due to personal reasons.

Verstappen is in the midst of a challenging title race, with McLaren dominating Red Bull almost every other weekend with superior pace and performance.

The upcoming Austrian GP is crucial for Verstappen since a race ban threat is looming over his shoulders. A single penalty point in Austria can lead to a ban. Amid such tough conditions, the four-time world champion received a blow as his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, will remain absent for the weekend due to undisclosed personal reasons.

To replace Lambiase, Red Bull has called up Simon Rennie, the group leader of the simulation engineering department in Milton Keynes, to team up with Max Verstappen. Rennie is an experienced person who worked as a race engineer until 2020.

Rennie joined F1 with Renault in 2004. After serving as a data engineer for several years, he was promoted to race engineer for Fernando Alonso in 2009. On the same team, he worked with Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, and Kimi Raikkonen.

In 2013, Rennie made a monumental switch to Red Bull Racing. He was appointed race engineer for Mark Webber that year. In 2014, he joined hands with Webber's replacement, Daniel Ricciardo. The two won several races together, but when Ricciardo quit the team in 2019, Rennie moved back to a factory-based role in Milton Keynes.

However, in 2020, Rennie was recalled to the race engineer position, as Alex Albon asked Red Bull for a more experienced engineer for himself. That stint didn't last long, as in 2021, Rennie moved back to the factory as Albon was replaced by Sergio Perez, and Hugh Bird took over as his race engineer.

---

Max Verstappen responds furiously to race ban question in Austria

Max Verstappen at the F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Previews - Source: Getty

The 2025 Austrian Grand Prix is crucial for Max Verstappen as the threat of a race ban looms over his shoulders. After the FIA penalized him with three penalty points for causing a collision with George Russell in Spain, he has 11 points on his super license. At 12 points, FIA triggers a race ban, and Verstappen's points won't be reduced until after this weekend.

Meanwhile, during media day in Austria, Verstappen was asked if he would tweak his driving style to be cautious and avoid a race ban. He replied, via Planet F1:

“You’re joking? Is this like a trap, or…? I’m getting this question every single time, every weekend. I have nothing to add."

Max Verstappen was also asked if he felt that stricter regulations had tamed drivers from racing freely. He refused to answer, saying he could not be critical and risk getting a penalty point.