Max Verstappen F1 News: Gianpiero Lambiase admits holding back in ‘frustrating’ row

Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen, generic, 2025, Qatar — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Gianpiero Lambiase admits holding back in ‘frustrating’ Max Verstappen row

Lambiase has been Verstappen's primary race engineer since 2016

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Monday 16 February 2026 11:51

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Max Verstappen's F1 race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has opened up on some of his more tense moments with the Red Bull star.

The four-time world champion is well known for his irascible nature on team radio, with Lambiase equally famous for his calm, deadpan responses which appear to help keep Verstappen from flying completely off the handle (most the time).

Lambiase features heavily in a chapter of the book Pressure, written by pundit Simon Lazenby and former F1 champion Damon Hill, in which he shares his experiences on the pit wall – especially with Verstappen.

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The 45-year-old engineer admitted that he gets frustrated when his driver pushes back against him, but because he feels that Verstappen fighting against him means that he's failed to communicate effectively from the pit wall to the cockpit.

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Lambiase: Sometimes I bite my lip on team radio

Quoted in the book, he said: “Obviously it’s still a bit frustrating when he’s fighting back because he hasn’t understood you. I then feel that I’ve failed at either communicating our intentions for the race, or in providing him with what he wanted or needed.

"Sometimes I bite my lip, but that goes back to the fundamental skill of a race engineer. You need to know how to manage someone in very different environments. He’s the one in the pressure cooker."

He also says: "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."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Gianpiero Lambiase