Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer ever since the Dutchman made his Red Bull debut, back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Over the last few seasons in particular, it’s been picked up on by many how often Verstappen and Lambiase appear to argue, something the Dutchman recognises people must “love”.

The duo are able to become heated over the radio and remain civil afterwards because of how strong a bond they’ve formed over the years, allowing them to understand what they need from each other to perform at the highest level.

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Lambiase giving Verstappen direct instructions and coming across as a bit strict is what the three-time World Champion demands, as he’d be frustrated otherwise.

“It’s how the relationship works,” Verstappen told Motorpsort.com. “I would be very, not upset, but I wouldn’t want to have an engineer who is very monotone or just says ‘copy… check that’.

“You just need a bit of fire. That’s how I like to operate.”

One of Verstappen’s biggest radio rows with Lambiase this year came during qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, where the Red Bull driver scrapped through to Q3.

Verstappen progressed to Q3 in P10, something which left him furious.

He was quick to slam Red Bull’s “s*** execution” and insisted that he should’ve been allowed to do two consecutive push laps.

Lambiase responded by stressing that if he’d done so, then he would’ve had no battery at the end of the session when the track was at its quickest.

Whilst this was aired across the F1 live feed, Verstappen admits that more often than not, his conversations with Lambiase aren’t heard in full, which can paint the wrong picture as a result.

“I guess people love it,” he said. “But that’s our relationship. We are very straightforward and if we don’t like something, we of course communicate.

READ: Max Verstappen refused Mercedes rental car

“It’s also a bit F1’s fault because they broadcast everything just to throw it out there.

“They don’t need to broadcast it – if you know what I mean. So, I guess they also like the excitement coming out.

“But our relationship has never really changed in that manner. And also after the race we are absolutely fine because, of course, we are there to win the race.”

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During Free Practice 2 at the Yas Marina Circuit, Verstappen’s performance engineer, Tom Hart, took Lambiase’s role.

Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer since the three-time World Champion joined Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, with the duo having gone on to form a very tight partnership.

The reasoning for Lambiase not filling his usual role on Friday was later revealed by the Milton Keynes-based team, with Hart having been given the opportunity to practice the role.

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In fact, Red Bull gave several employees an opportunity to practice a different role, with the team having already sealed both titles.

Red Bull effectively fielded an entire new squad on the opening day of the season finale, including, two new drivers.

To comply with the mandatory two rookie sessions, reigning Formula E World Champion Jake Dennis and Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar replaced Verstappen and Sergio Perez in FP1, before the usual pairing returned for FP2.

In regard to Lambiase, Red Bull confirmed that he’ll be back in his role as Verstappen’s race engineer from Saturday onwards, ready for qualifying.

It’s been a difficult weekend for Verstappen so far based on FP2 and Free Practice 3, with him looking less than happy with the performance of his RB19.

The reigning World Champion ended Friday in third, before he could only salvage sixth in the final practice session before qualifying.

Verstappen was over seven-tenths slower than George Russell’s leading time, whilst Perez could only claim P11.

A Red Bull victory certainly doesn’t look a guarantee based on the team’s performance in the practice sessions, with Mercedes appearing to have the best package.

READ: Lando Norris delivers health update ahead of Abu Dhabi GP

Verstappen actually had a run in with both Mercedes drivers during FP2 on Friday, after he decided to overtake both Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the unique pit-exit tunnel.

He brushed the wall whilst completing the odd overtake, which has since been addressed by the race director.

From Saturday, overtaking in the underpass is now a punishable offence, unless it’s done to overtake a car with an issue.

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Verstappen and Red Bull are currently unbeatable, with some predicting that their dominance will continue at least until the new power unit regulations are introduced in 2026.

Only Lando Norris has been able to take the fight to Verstappen in recent races, although the 26-year-old still cruised to a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship with ease.

Ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen has won 17 races this season, smashing his own record for most wins in year which he only set last year.

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As always in F1 though, Red Bull and Verstappen will eventually be defeated and won’t find themselves in a position where they can win almost every race.

When that day comes, Lambiase is worried about how Verstappen will treat him, given that they still have very heated disagreements over the radio even when the driver is leading by several seconds.

“My biggest fear is the moment that we do have increased competition and we’re not winning every race, because you see how he’s treating me at the moment – and he’s winning every race!” Lambiase smiled on Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast, whilst Verstappen laughed alongside him.

Whilst Lambiase stated it in a comical way with a smile on his face, the reality is Verstappen will have a fight on his hands eventually.

The Dutch driver admits himself that he’s still had times this season when he’s been “upset”, despite the fact Red Bull have been unbeatable.

Verstappen is simply chasing perfection every Grand Prix, something which can often result in tension between himself and Lambiase.

READ: ‘More celebrities’ than fans predicted to attend 2023 Las Vegas GP

“I mean, I still get upset, even in such a dominant season, when things don’t go well, and it’s the same for GP,” Verstappen said.

“We still want to win, we still want to do everything as perfect as we can, even though no one is perfect, but we try to be as close to perfection as possible. That’s why sometimes, of course, we still have our arguments, but it’s all because we are very driven to win…

“When we come out of the weekend, we say how we could have done things better, or quite a bit better. You know, it still upsets us, which I think is good because if you don’t have that drive, then I think something is wrong.”

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Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer ever since he replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull, back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

2023 has marked their eighth year working so closely together, with it being a time period which has seen the duo go through a lot.

All of Verstappen’s sides have been seen by the British/Italian race engineer, who has supported the Dutchman through his highs and his lows.

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Nowadays, it’s very common to hear the duo seemingly arguing or being blunt with one another over the team radio; however, they’ve often stressed that this is simply their way of communicating effectively as they know each other so well.

It’s been a long eight years for the pair, with Verstappen having joked that he thought Lambiase was going to say that they’d been together for “too long” on a recent podcast appearance.

“I thought he was going to say too long!” Verstappen joked on Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast.

Lambiase revealed that given how much he sees the 26-year-old during the season, he thinks it’d be “unfair to expect” the three-time World Champion to spend time with him away from the track, when they get the odd weekend off.

“There are so many races and there’s so much time that you are forced to be together that I think it would be unfair to expect Max to want to spend even more time with me or vice versa when he’s finally got a weekend off,” Lambiase said.

Verstappen agreed with this and highlighted the importance of spending time with loved ones when not competing, with him joking that himself and Lambiase see more of each other than they do their partners.

The Red Bull driver did reveal though, that he met up with Lambiase “during the holidays”, with him admitting that it’s still nice to catch up with his race engineer away from work.

“The thing is also that I come to the UK to do simulator stuff,” Verstappen responded.

“Then I’m really happy to leave the UK to go back home and, as GP says, we’re doing so many races together that it’s also nice to just when you have free time, spend it with your close ones, your family and friends because I think they deserve all the attention as well.

“But we did meet up during the holidays. We spent the day together. So, yeah, it’s nice to do it here and there, but I think we see each other more than we see for you, your wife, for me, my girlfriend.”

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As mentioned, the pair have been through a considerable amount together but no year was as stressful and intense as 2021.

It was in 2021, of course, when Verstappen fought Lewis Hamilton for the Drivers’ Championship, with that season having “cemented” the Dutch driver’s “bond” with Lambiase.

“Since 21 was so intense, I think the relationship and the bond was cemented that year, and then last year and this year has just been a continuation of that,” Lambiase said. “Yeah, I think he’s my little brother.”

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The three-time World Champion started the race from sixth after exceeding track limits on his best lap in Q3 on Friday, giving him some overtaking to do.

A strong start saw the Dutchman overtake George Russell at the opening corner, before he very quickly settled into the race.

Verstappen was simply looking after his tyres whilst carefully picking off the drivers ahead of him, with both Ferrari drivers having put up little fight.

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The Red Bull driver was up to third in no time at all, before he was called into the pits to complete an undercut on early race leader Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Norris’ advantage over Verstappen was slightly too big for an undercut to be performed; however, the 26-year-old still gained significant time.

He overtook the McLaren driver into Turn 12 on Lap 28, to claim what was the lead of the race as Hamilton had entered the pits a few laps before.

When Verstappen hit the front, most expected him to clear off into the distance but this wasn’t the case.

Norris continued to push Verstappen until he started to fall away from the Dutch driver and fell into the clutches of Hamilton.

The order remained the same after the second round of pit-stops were made, with Verstappen having still been in the lead.

However, Verstappen and Red Bull seemed to start panicking, as proven by the 50-time race winner’s shouting over the radio.

It became clear that Verstappen was nursing a brake problem, although it was Lambiase talking to him whilst he was braking which fuelled his anger.

“Please! No talking under braking!” shouted Verstappen over the radio to Lambiase.

Verstappen’s frustration with Lambiase only heightened as Hamilton started to close him down in the final few laps, after overtaking Norris for second.

Lambiase then seemingly spoke to Verstappen again whilst he was braking, resulting in another fiery response from the driver.

READ: Charles Leclerc fumes at his engineer

“No talking! I’m braking,” Verstappen shouted once again.

Verstappen just about maintained in the lead to claim his 15th win of the season, matching his record for the most victories in a single campaign.

He also congratulated his race engineer during his cooldown lap for a good performance, despite the pair having bumped heads not for the first time this season.

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Starting from sixth after exceeding track limits in Q3 on his best lap, Verstappen made light work of George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

The three-time World Champion was the first of the lead drivers to pit which saw him close rapidly on Lando Norris, whom he overtook for the race lead on Lap 28.

Unlike what most expected, the Dutchman failed to clear into the distance, as it was soon discovered that he was suffering from a brake issue.

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This allowed Norris and Lewis Hamilton remain within touching distance of the Red Bull driver, who complained about his brakes ovr the radio.

He later went onto shout at Lambiase, who spoke to him whilst the 26-year-old was in a braking zone.

The same thing happened a few laps later, after Verstappen insisted that he isn’t spoken to whilst braking.

It was yet another heated exchange between the pair, who clearly have a love-hate relationship.

In the end, it was victory number 15 of the season, as a rapidly closing Hamilton failed to get on terms with the Red Bull driver in time.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he had, as Hamilton was disqualified after the race, as his floor didn’t meet the technical regulations.

During the usual cooldown lap congratulatory radio messages, Verstappen praised Lambiase for a good performance, before his race engineer confused many.

“See you on Friday,” Lambiase said to Verstappen over the radio after he’d won the race.

Some wondered if this was due to tensions between the pair; however, team principal Christian Horner revealed after the race that Lambiase had to rush to the airport to make his flight back to the UK.

“Well, you know it was not a code or anything like that, so the marital bliss between the two of them just rolls on,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“He’s had to rush back to the UK so he was rushing to catch a flight,” Horner continued. “So yeah, it used to be Helmut [Marko] that left the track early, now it’s the race engineer that’s straight out after the race.”

READ: Red Bull break silence on replacing Sergio Perez with Fernando Alonso

Horner went onto admit that Verstappen did have a brake issue but that he was more than capable of managing it.

“He was managing a brake issue throughout the race,” Horner added. “You could hear, he wasn’t happy about the brakes.

“And when you’ve got that issue you are building in a bit of a margin. So I think all his focus was on that and he knew very well what the gap was and he was managing that.”

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Verstappen and Lambiase appear to often clash over the radio, something which led to suggestions that they don’t get on.

The pair have worked together ever since the three-time World Champion joined Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, a race he, of course, won.

Lambiase has often been very critical of the Dutchman over the radio and has informed him when he’s not done something right, as was the case at the Qatar Grand Prix where he failed to push for the opening corners during a 10-minute warm-up.

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Whilst Verstappen does often argue back over the radio, he stresses that this is the type of relationship he wants, as he thrives off of Lambiase’s honesty.

The duo are often straightforward with one another no matter whether they’re discussing a positive or a negative, caused by the fact they’re both “strong” characters.

However, Verstappen is convinced that it’s because they are so similar that they get on brilliantly and have enjoyed so much success together.

“[It’s] Incredibly important,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.

“I think a race engineer really needs to understand you and it’s very rare to have such a strong connection I think with an engineer.

“We hit the ground running quite in a crazy way, winning our first race together.

“You have your tough moments as well, because I’m a strong character, he’s a strong character, but that’s what I like because I will say to him when it’s bad and I will say to him when it’s good and he says that to me as well. That’s why I think we get on so well.

“That’s why sometimes we get quite vocal on the radio and then people sometimes think that we don’t like each other but we actually have a lot of respect for each other and we always want the best in every single situation.”

As talented as Verstappen is, Lambiase continues to give the 26-year-old advice on how to manage his tyres.

The reigning World Champion actually likes this despite him knowing a “lot of things myself”, with him being in favour of having Lambiase’s voice “in the background”.

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“He really tries to also coach me through the race,” Verstappen admitted.

“Of course, I know a lot of things myself when I’m driving but it’s always nice to have that voice.

“Sometimes in my head while driving I’m like ‘Okay, I know what to do’ but it’s still nice to have him in the background.”

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Verstappen and Lambiase have worked together since the Dutchman joined Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, a race he famously one.

They have a “great partnership” which has certainly been tested over recent years; however, it’s only recently that some heated conversations have been heard.

Verstappen recently hit out at the team and Lambiase at the end of Q2 at the Belgian Grand Prix, prior to the summer break.

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The reigning World Champion was furious after nearly being eliminated in Q2, with him slamming the team’s “s*** execution”.

“I don’t give a f* if I’m through in P10. It was s* execution,” Verstappen said at the end of Q2 at Spa-Francorchamps.

“OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?” Lambiase sharply replied.

The pair were at it again during the race at Spa, which Verstappen won by 22 seconds despite having started sixth.

Nevertheless, Horner joked that they were “like an old married couple”.

“They are like an old married couple,” Horner said.

“You hear them b* at each other and having a go. They’ve done a bit of counselling over the summer break. They’re back together, they look happy, and it’s a great partnership.

“Those two guys, they know each other intimately and the race engineer has a unique relationship with the driver, and GP and Max’s is one of the best I have ever seen”.

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They were at it again on Saturday at the Dutch GP, as Lambiase told Verstappen to concentrate after he asked the team to get the Soft tyres ready, due to the track rapidly drying.

Verstappen ended up claimed pole position once again by six-tenths of a second.

He comfortably won the grand prix, despite the weather making his life more difficult than usual.

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Lambiase and Verstappen were talking to each other a fair amount during the recent race at Spa-Francorchamps, which the reigning World Champion won from sixth on the grid.

He was given several warnings during the race by Lambiase though, seemingly to Verstappen’s frustration.

“Don’t forget Max, use your head please,” Lambiase told Verstappen, whilst he was catching Sergio Perez for the race lead.

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“Are we both doing it or what?” Verstappen snapped back, after wanting to know if himself and his team-mate were being given the same instructions.

Verstappen was incredibly blunt with Lambiase and spoke back at his race engineer multiple times, something which didn’t get missed.

“What are your thoughts?” Lambiase asked. “Can we get there or should we box this lap to cover Leclerc?”

Verstappen once again snapped back: “Erm, I can’t see the weather radar can I, so I don’t know.”

Lambiase at times during the race was simply trying to warn the Dutch driver about looking after his tyres, with tyre wear having been high at the Belgian GP.

“You used a lot of the tyre on the out lap Max. Not sure that was very sensible,” said Lambiase, to which he received no response.

 Lambiase later added: “This tyre had reasonable deg in the first stint. I’ll ask you to use your head a bit more.”

Verstappen did reply this time and joked that he could push hard and pit again.

“I could also push on and we do another stop; a little bit of pit stop training,” said Verstappen.

“No. Not this time,” Lambiase concluded.

Following the race, Verstappen’s conversations with Lambiase was one of the main headlines, given how heated they appeared to be.

However, Horner has insisted that the duo have a “lot of respect and trust” for one another, with Lambiase simply being a unique race engineer capable of dealing with Verstappen’s “tough” nature.

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“Gianpiero Lambiase is good at managing Verstappen during a race weekend and qualifying, and there is respect towards each other from both sides,” said Horner, as reported by GPFans.com.

“GP has contact with me at the pit wall, but the main communication is with the driver.

“There is a lot of respect and trust between the two. If you want to be Verstappen’s engineer, you have to come from good homes. He is a tough customer. Many engineers would succumb to that pressure, and GP can deal with that. Both in terms of character and respect.”

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Verstappen was imperious once again last weekend at the historic Spa-Francorchamps, with the Dutchman having claimed his 10th win of 2023.

His win at the legendary venue was also his eighth consecutive victory, and the 45th of his Formula 1 career.

The reigning World Champion’s dominance since the new aerodynamic regulations came into effect last season appears to be getting no closer to ending, as proven by the fact he’s now won 25 of the last 34 races.

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In total, Verstappen has won 73.5% of the races since the new regs were introduced, highlighting his dominance.

To put it into further context, Sergio Perez is second for the most wins since the new regulations were introduced, with four wins to both of their names.

Nothing is stopping Verstappen from winning currently, not even a five-place grid penalty.

The two-time World Champion had qualified on pole but started from sixth last weekend, following a five-place grid penalty for having a new gearbox fitted outside of his legal limit.

He remarkably found himself in the lead by Lap 17/44 before going on to win by over 22 seconds.

His lead in the Drivers’ Championship now sits at a mammoth 125 points, meaning he could theoretically miss the next five races and still lead the standings.

It’s only a matter of time until he claims his third consecutive title, something the grid appears to have accepted.

Despite how easily Verstappen is winning every race currently, he’s still been getting plenty of instructions from his race engineer.

Lambiase was very vocal with Verstappen over the team radio last weekend, with the pair having spoken back to each other.

As a result, many pondered whether the duo have any issues, something Verstappen has denied.

READ: Helmut Marko snubs Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes

Marko actually thinks Verstappen’s and Lambiase’s conversations are good for journalists, with them being “good fun”.

“It’s great fun for journalists and the public,” Marko told De Telegraaf.

“The things they talk about always have a serious undertone, but if you know the background, you understand it.”

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