Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has revealed what his “biggest fear” is regarding his relationship with the Dutchman, and how it will only happen when Red Bull are beatable.
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.
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“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.”