"An Old Married Couple": Max Verstappen's Stubborn Spanish GP Act Probes Christian Horner To Deem him With a Crazy Analogy

Sep 26, 2023

Follow Us

via Reuters

Formula One F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco –May 26, 2023 Red Bull's Max Verstappen before practice REUTERS/Piroschka Van DeWouw

Who is the first person to appreciate Max Verstappen's performance when he wins a race? It's GP. Who bears the brunt of Verstappen's outbursts on the radio? It's GP. And who puts him in place whenever needed? Again it's GP. But who is GP? And no, GP isn't short for Grand Prix.

GP is none other than Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen's race engineer. And the voice of calm (and occasional humor) to Max's occasional anger (and jokes). But their relationship isn't like any other driver-race engineer pairing. Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal, believes their relationship runs deeper.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

At the Spanish GP (read: Grand Prix), the two-time World Champion was chasing his third career Grand Slam—this includes getting pole position, winning the race, leading every lap, and driving the fastest lap of the race. With just five laps to go and a very healthy 20-second advantage on Hamilton in second, Verstappen practically had three of the four criteria in the bag. All he needed was the fastest lap. However, he had already been shown the black and white flag for exceeding track limits thrice.

via Reuters

Formula One F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – June 4, 2023. Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action as he leads into the first corner at start of the race ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. REUTERS/Albert Gea TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

He would’ve received a 5-second penalty if he had exceeded limits a fourth time. Although he had the margin, GP did not want him to take any risks. So when he asked GP (read: Gianpiero Lambiase) what his fastest lap was, he reminded Verstappen about the black and white flag. Despite this, the Dutchman put in the race's fastest lap in the following lap.

1705 Live Readers

June 07, 2023 04:15 pm EDT

June 07, 2023 02:45 pm EDT

June 05, 2023 03:27 pm EDT

June 07, 2023 04:00 pm EDT

June 06, 2023 12:16 am EDT

"Just Drive Man & Shut Up": Fans Enjoy Max Verstappen Being Shut Up in anAttempt To Emulate Fernando Alonso

30 days ago

"The relationship between Verstappen and Lambiase is similar to that of an old married couple arguing about what to watch on television," said Horner when asked about the disagreement between Max and GP. After Max did the fastest lap, despite GP telling him not to, GP not-so-subtly asked him to bring the car home without exceeding track limits. Horner also believes that GP is the only one who can get Max to listen to him. As quoted by SpeedWeek, Horner said, "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."

Team sports are all about loyalty. While F1 may not seem like a team sport—with every driver fending for themselves—it is, in fact, a team sport. Much like Michael Jordan hung up his Jordans (at least with the Chicago Bulls) when the Bulls’ head coach, Phil Jackson, was retiring, Verstappen has expressed multiple times that he’ll "only race if he's wearing headphones. When he retires from F1, I’ll do it too."

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Reuters

Formula One F1 – Spanish Grand Prix – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain – June 4, 2023. Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates with a trophy on the podium after winning the Spanish Grand Prix REUTERS/Albert Gea

GP and Max are both very straightforward people. And more importantly, they are "fundamentally honest with each other." As a result, they are bound to have heated debates and disagreements from time to time—with GP pointing out Verstappen's errors and missteps—but that just helps when things aren't going too well on track.

"We get along so well that there's no need to apologize to each other after a heated debate. We have a great working relationship, and we push each other. It keeps us both on our toes," Verstappen said, as quoted by SpeedWeek.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story | Max Verstappen set for huge new Red Bull deal, reported to be worth over $53 million per year

The relationship between a driver and their race engineer is crucial to the driver's and the team's success. It's safe to say that Gianpiero Lambiase has played a vital role in Verstappen's career and continues to do so. And when the time comes, and GP wants to step aside from F1, he can be sure Max will follow him. But given their relationship, the question remains. Will GP ever be ready to bow out from F1 before Verstappen? Or will he stay until his driver sees out his career and decides to retire?

ADVERTISEMENT

Aditi Krishnan

5 articles

Edited By: Akash Pandhare

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT