Verstappen dealt absence blow at Austrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen had been hoping for a boost from Red Bull's home crowd this weekend in Austria, but a recent report claims the champion will be suffering from a major team absence.

Dutch publication De Telegraaf has revealed that Verstappen will be heading out for the first time in Spielberg without the vital assistance of his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase (GP).

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The reigning champion's Red Bull ally will be absent for the 11th round of Verstappen's 2025 campaign, instead communicating via team radio with Simon Rennie, an experienced British engineer who previously worked with Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon.

When the fan-favourite racer left Red Bull in 2018, Rennie was given a role back at the factory in Milton Keynes at his own request, but will return for one weekend to replace GP, with Verstappen's usual engineer set to return for Silverstone next time out.

It is understood that Verstappen's regular engineer, Lambiase, will be absent due to private circumstances.

Verstappen missing key Red Bull figure in Austria

A race engineer is the point of communication between the driver and the team during every on-track session, with stars such as GP responsible for talking their drivers through strategy, helping improve performance and coaching them on car and tyre management.

In Lambiase's case, the role also includes calming down a foul-mouthed Verstappen at times.

Though the two may not always see eye to eye if their team radio communications are anything to go by, the relationship between Verstappen and GP is a strong one, which has brought Red Bull four drivers' titles and two constructors' championships during the duo's time together.

GP is always an integral part of Verstappen's success and as we have seen with Lewis Hamilton and Riccardo Adami, his first Ferrari race engineer, it can often take time to gel with a new voice over team radio.

Having only managed a P2 finish last time out in Canada, Verstappen will be relying on Rennie to provide him with the tools to go one better and secure a home victory for the outfit at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.

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