Race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is immensely proud of his driver Max Verstappen. The British engineer has been working with the Dutchman since his early days at Red Bull and has observed how the driver has improved even after ten years in Formula 1. Lambiase is therefore already warning Verstappen’s competitors about the coming years.
Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have been working together at Red Bull since 2016. The two have experienced quite a few highlights together over the years, including winning four world titles. Lambiase praises his driver for his continuous development despite all his success.
“This season has quite a lot in common with 2021,” Lambiase reflects, speaking to Sky Sports. The British engineer also immediately explains why the season reminded him of Verstappen’s title fight with Lewis Hamilton. “It became very intense at times, as the gap we had at the beginning of the year gradually disappeared. And it may be hard for the outside world to believe, but Max has taken another step this year. He works very well with his crew and we have seen a few times that he doesn’t necessarily have to win every race. He has grown tremendously.”
‘Max is a beast’
With his fourth world title, Verstappen joins an exclusive group alongside Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel. Helmut Marko has previously stated that Red Bull aims for a fifth title for the Dutchman in 2025, and Lambiase also sees this happening. “That’s also the problem the other drivers have to deal with: Max is a beast, he improves every year. Just when you start to think he has reached his peak, he takes another step. That must be quite frightening for the others on the grid.
