Ranked: Five memorable radio exchanges between Max Verstappen and GianPiero Lambiase

Thomas Maher
Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase in the Red Bull garage

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase in the Red Bull garage

Max Verstappen’s obstreperous nature is matched only by his race engineer GianPiero Lambiase, with the pair known to have fiesty squabbles over team radio.

Having had Lambiase as his race engineer ever since stepping up to Red Bull in 2016, Verstappen’s temper is firmly kept in check by the British-Italian as he is more than a match for the four-time World Champion’s wit and occasional insolence.

Max Verstappen and GianPiero Lambiase’s long relationship

The relationship between Verstappen and his race engineer is one of utter trust and compatibility, with Verstappen having long made it clear that he only wishes to have Lambiase in his ear and working on his car as long as he’s in F1.

The pair enjoy a big brother/little brother type dynamic although, occasionally, their bickering is more akin to what Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have called “an old married couple” as they snipe at each other over team radio.

Indeed, the sniping actually seems to work to rev Verstappen up more, who revealed in 2023 he prefers an argumentative dynamic rather than a more passive race engineer.

“It’s how the relationship works,” Verstappen explained. “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.”

There have been plenty of quick quips and digs over the years, including a recent one from Lambiase after Verstappen recovered from a grid penalty to win the Qatar Grand Prix.

“Okay mate, karma is a wonderful thing,” Lambiase said to Verstappen afterward.

“Definitely did not drive necessarily slowly today, great job.”

In 2023, a disobedient Verstappen did a second push lap in practice at Monza, having been told not to by Lambiase.

GP: “Did you learn anything?

Max: “Not really.”

GP: “Well done.”

Let’s look back over some of the most memorable radio exchanges Lambiase and Verstappen have had over the years.

5. 2016/2023 Singapore Grand Prix

In their first year together, Lambiase and Verstappen joked together as the Dutch driver encountered “Godzilla”, ie. a lizard, out on track at Marina Bay.

MV: Woah, there’s a giant lizard on the track. I’m not joking, out of Turn 3!

GP: Face-to-face with Godzilla then, mate?

In 2023, another lizard appeared, prompting the pair to remember their previous encounter.

MV: There’s another lizard on the track. Maybe a smaller one this time.

GP: OK, understood, maybe Godzilla had a kid!

MV: I mean, it makes sense.

4. 2023 Spanish Grand Prix

Dominating the Spanish Grand Prix en route to his third title, Verstappen fancied giving himself a challenge in the closing stages of the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

With Verstappen enquiring about the fastest lap, Lambiase was wise to what his driver was really asking.

GP: It’s a 16.6, it was the first lap on a new soft for Checo, with DRS, so I wouldn’t worry about it, Max.

MV: What’s my fastest lap?

GP: Yours is a 17.3. You’ve been given a black-and-white flag so you cannot afford anything.

Verstappen was on his last warning for track limits but, despite this, took the gamble by pushing hard on the final flap to set a 16.3 and take the fastest lap point away from his teammate.

GP: OK, now can you bring it home between the white lines? Thank you.

Max: Yeah, yeah.

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3. 2022 Spanish Grand Prix

Verstappen’s DRS wasn’t in the mood to cooperate with his button presses during this race, leading the Dutch driver to get increasingly annoyed in the first half as he fought to get into the lead.

Having already complained a few times about his DRS not working, his patience wore down…

MV:? Oh my god man.

GP: Max,? try pressing the DRS after your kerbing.

GP: Max, I think you may have closed it last time around.

MV: Because I’m pressing it 50 f**king times before it opens.

G[: Just try one button press after the kerb.

While Verstappen’s DRS failed to completely come back to life, his three-stop strategy proved the winning one as he came through to win.

2. 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

In what was a dominant year for Verstappen as he won 19 of the 23 races, the Dutch driver wasn’t impressed as he only barely made it into Q3 – saved as Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly failed to pip him on their final attempts in the improving conditions.

MV: I should have just pushed two laps in a row like I said. Ahhhh.

GP: But you are through, Max.

Max: Yeah, I don’t give a f**k if I’m through in P10! It’s just s**t execution.

Clearly annoyed by his driver’s comment, he continued…

GP: 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? But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it.? Let me know. Sets, fuel, run plan.

There was no reply from Verstappen, who went on to take pole position in Q3.

MV: Oh, nice gap that. At least, we had a good Q3 and sorry, GP, for being so on the rant.

GP: Slowly getting used to it Max.

But the tension hadn’t completely dissipated, with Verstappen clearly willing to continue pushing Lambiase’s buttons the next day, during the Grand Prix, as Verstappen was stalking teammate Sergio Perez for the lead of the race.

GP: And don’t forget, use your head Max, please.

MV: Are we both doing it, or what? (Referring to pit stop strategy).

GP: You just follow my instruction.

MV: I want to know what both cars are doing.

GP: Please follow my instruction, and trust it.

With Verstappen taking the lead and sauntering off into the distance, it appeared only his race engineer was his sole source of annoyance during this race.

GP: You used a lot of tyre on the outlap, Max. I’m not sure that was sensible.

GP: This tyre had reasonable degradation in the first stint. I’d ask you to use your head a bit more.

Max: I could also push on and we do another stop? A little bit of pit-stop training perhaps?

GP: No, not this time.?

The back-and-forth got plenty of attention on the world feed, and prompted Verstappen to comment on it afterward.

“That’s how we operate,” he told Sky Sports. “I mean, I think we know each other very well, from all the years we have been working together already.

“The car has been performing really well. Of course, they want to keep it under control but I’m the one in the car feeling how the tyres are behaving.

“They have the numbers but it’s still also a feeling thing and I think as long as they tell me from there what they’re seeing then I can make my mind up in terms of how to push it out.

“And I think that’s working out very well for us at the moment.”

1. 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

While most of Verstappen and Lambiase’s exchanges comprise of churlish bickering, rather than outright anger, the events of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix showed that both could get properly annoyed with the other.

The Dutch driver was already irritated by how his Red Bull RB20’s competitiveness was fading away under him and, with Verstappen cognisant that his title chances were slipping away, Red Bull’s strategy calls allowed him to be undercut by other cars.

Increasingly incensed behind the wheel by this, as well as some on-track battles not going his way, a chiding message from Lambiase infuriated Verstappen.

GP: Well, that’s some gentle introduction.

MV: No mate, don’t give me that bulls**t now. You guys gave me this f**king strategy, OK? I’m trying to rescue what’s left. For f**k’s sake.

Having caught back up on Hamilton after despatching Leclerc, Verstappen wasn’t impressed by the tactics used by Hamilton as the Mercedes driver ran him out wide exiting Turn 2.

MV: Should you leave a car’s width?

GP: We think you were behind at the apex, Max.

MV: OK, whatever, mate.

Verstappen’s lunge on Hamilton resulted in contact as Hamilton’s right-front wheel snagged Verstappen’s left rear. Throwing the Red Bull into the air with a hefty landing, the two cars impressively managed to continue without repercussions for either.

MV: He moved under braking.

GP: I’m not going to get into a radio fight with the other teams, Max. We’ll let the stewards do their thing. It’s childish on the radio, childish.

Amusingly, Verstappen had one final zinger after crossing the finish line, aimed at the stewards for their decision-making that annoyed him so much during the race.

GP: I understand the medical delegate needs to have a look at you, examine you, under parc ferme conditions when you get out.

MV: You could send the medical delegate up to see the stewards maybe they can have a look they are all okay. I’m absolutely fine.

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