Max Verstappen’s F1 race engineer reveals reality of ‘heated’ Red Bull conversations

Thumbnail for article regarding Verstappen mad at Lambiase — Photo: © IMAGO

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s F1 race engineer reveals reality of ‘heated’ Red Bull conversations

Gianpiero Lambiase is Max Verstappen's F1 race engineer

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 7 February 2026 20:25

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Max Verstappen's F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has spoken out about 'heated conversations' that take place on the Red Bull pit wall during races.

Lambiase has been Verstappen's race engineer since the Dutchman joined the team back in 2016, and he has overseen all of his four world championship wins and 71 grand prix victories.

The pair will continue to work together in 2026, despite comments at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix hinting that it may be their last race together, and rumours in the off-season linking Lambiase with a move away from the team.

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Now, Lambiase has revealed quite how different his conversations with the four-time world champion are, compared to his conversations with other team members on the Red Bull pit wall.

"The pit wall may be saying, 'what’s up with him now, GP?' And I’ll give them, 'well that’s because he wants to stop and we didn’t stop, for God’s sake,'" Lambiase said in a chapter in the new book Pressure, written by F1 pundit Simon Lazenby and former F1 champion Damon Hill.

"'I can see it as well: his tyres are falling off a cliff!' And whilst you might see me being calm to Max, the conversations we have on the pit wall, that thankfully aren’t broadcast, are a lot more heated.

"Nobody will say anything with malice but you are at the coalface and decisions need to be made and whilst it’s helpful if all these decisions are based on fact and you’ve tried to stay away from subjective opinion, there needs to be a freedom of speech on the pit wall and that is something that, thankfully, Red Bull has encouraged.

"If you are treading on eggshells it doesn’t work."

Lambiase and Versatappen's heated exchanges

28-year-old Verstappen is not always the easiest driver to be issuing orders to, and Lambiase and the Dutchman have had their fair share of heated exchanges.

At the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Lambiase and Verstappen exchanged some angered messages after Verstappen was undercut by Lewis Hamilton on two occasions, before Lambiase used the word 'childish' towards Verstappen, although Red Bull suggested after the race that it was actually taken out of context on the broadcast.

During Belgian GP qualifying in 2023, Verstappen swore in the direction of Lambiase on a number of occasions, after what he described as 's*** execution' from the team.

Nonetheless, the pair share a very good relationship, and are encouraged to be honest with each other during race weekends over the team radio, despite large parts of this being broadcast to viewers around the world.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Gianpiero Lambiase