Max Verstappen’s commanding performance at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix led to some concerns from Pirelli regarding his tire tactics, prompting some criticism from Formula 1 engineer Gianpiero Lambiase of Red Bull. It is well known that Red Bull had employed Lambiase to work with Sebastian Vettel prior to working with Verstappen. However, Christian Horner recently revealed that the individual responsible for the hiring of the engineer was none other than Vettel himself.
Even before joining Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2022 season, himself had interviewed Lambiase, depicting the race engineer’s contribution to the team. It is clear why Red Bull signed the Italian engineer in 2015; the conversations with Max on the team radio, which have significantly boosted the way the Dutchman could perform on the track.
🗣️| Horner reveals Sebastian Vettel's role in selecting GP as Red Bull’s race engineer
"GP originally came as a replacement for Rocky (Vettel’s race engineer), who wanted to rise to the role of Head of Race Engineering.”
“And he went through a grueling selection process, which… pic.twitter.com/sVfXc1TZRM
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) August 1, 2023
Lambiase was slated to leave Force India along with Sergio Perez at the end of the 2014 season, and Red Bull saw him as a potential recruit when Guillaume Rocquelin, the German driver’s former race engineer, became head of race engineering at Red Bull. It was then that Vettel agreed on interviewing and hiring the engineer.
Gianpiero Lambiase at Red Bull
Gianpiero Lambiase began his Formula 1 career back in 2005 with the Jordan F1 team, which later transitioned into Force India. He is currently the race engineer for two-time world champion Max Verstappen. He worked alongside Vitantonio Liuzzi, Paul di Resta, and Sergio Perez during his time there and was Giancarlo Fisichella’s performance engineer.
In 2014, Lambiase joined the Red Bull team while partnering with former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, who is also popular for his accidental relationship with Max Verstappen. However, Lambiase was teamed with the current dominating driver, Max Verstappen when Kvyat lost his seat after 23 Grand Prix. He has since taken on a key part in Verstappen’s journey so far. The well-deserved promotion of Lambiase to Red Bull’s trackside engineer in 2022 reinforced his significance in assisting his driver-partner.
Max on his radio messages with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the Belgian Grand Prix…😅🎙️ pic.twitter.com/fn6R5Eya1y
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 31, 2023
During the 2023 Belgian F1 Grand Prix, there was a dramatic exchange between the Dutch driver and Lambiase, where it seemed Max was reluctant to comply with the race strategy or even pay any heed to the engineer’s advice. Although Max’s deviations from the strategy rarely impacted the team’s performance, it was definitely a source of frustration for Lambiase.
Despite whatever is said about his arrogant behavior, Max later apologized. The Spa-Francorchamps race showed Lambiase’s unique efficiency to handle Verstappen within Red Bull. Gianpiero Lambiase, according to Christian Horner and the team, is a vital part of Red Bull and has a huge role in getting the cars to reach the finish line, and Sebastian Vettel holds the credit for this to an extent.