It’s only natural that the drivers get the most attention in Formula 1. After all, they are the one who have the greatest direct impact over where they finish during race day.
But there are so many more people involved in determining whether a team succeeds or suffers during a grand prix weekend – and most work just as hard as the drivers do in the pursuit of perfection.
For this week’s Round Table, RaceFans’ writers celebrate the personalities outside of the cockpit who have impressed us most in 2023:
A working relationship
Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase’s first experience of working with Max Verstappen was a successful one. The future thrice-champion, just 18 years old, won on his debut for the team at the Spanish Grand Prix.
But if Lambiase was expecting to be spared the full force of Verstappen’s direct manner on the radio in a season where they faced little opposition, he was to be disappointed. Verstappen’s characteristic bluntness and Lambiase’s take-no-nonsense manner remain much in evidence.
Known for his directness on the radio and concise communication, Lambiase and Verstappen often share heated exchanges over a race weekend. Most memorably this season was during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, where the pair locked horns after Verstappen was almost knocked out of the second part of qualifying.
Verstappen had pitted for soft dry tyres mid-session but ran off the circuit on his first flying lap. After some discussions about how many push laps they could fit in, Verstappen crossed the line with less than 10 seconds remaining, getting into the final part of qualifying by the skin of his teeth.
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Verstappen put Formula One Management’s radio bleeper to the test as he complained. “I should have [censored] pushed two laps in a row like I said,” Verstappen told Lambiase.
“But you’re through, Max,” his race engineer pointed out. “Yeah, but I don’t give a [censored] if I’m through in P10,” shot back Verstappen. “It’s just [censored] execution,” he replied.
Dripping with sarcasm, the engineer responded “Okay, and 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,” Lambiase continued. “Let me know – sets, fuel, run plan…”
Verstappen, of course, ended up on…
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