Verstappen clarifies relationship with Red Bull engineer after fiery radio clash
Max Verstappen has brushed off claims of a fallout with Gianpiero Lambiase after firing foul-mouthed comments towards Red Bull's race engineer during the United States Grand Prix.
A frustrated Verstappen could be heard furiously telling Lambiase to stop talking while he was braking on multiple occasions during the final laps of his latest victory. "Please! No talking in the braking zones," the Dutch driver was heard telling Lambiase over the radio. "No talking in the braking man, f***," he added.
Ahead of qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen - who's already confirmed his third successive world championship title after a spectacular season - cleared up any suggestions of a rift with Lambiase. "We always get along very well," the Red Bull star affirmed when speaking in Mexico City.
"Of course, in the heat of the moment, I let him know that I wasn't very happy that he was talking under the braking. The race was done, and he had to catch a flight already, on the in lap, back home, so he said I'll see you Friday. People then said, 'Oh he's very p****** off'. Whatever. We always get on well."
Italian Lambiase has been the Dutchman's engineer since Verstappen joined Red Bull in 2016, with the pair tallying a total of 50 Grand Prix victories, and, of course, Verstappen's three world championship titles. His braking issues meant that last Sunday's race in Austin will go down as one of his toughest ever wins, only nudging ahead of Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton late on.
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Verstappen also put his struggles down to being "too safe" during the early stages, explaining: "You have to take into account Austin, with the bumps and the Sprint format, after one practice session you have to setup the car, and it's a bit more of a hit and miss.
"From our side I think we went too conservative, too safe, and [Mercedes] clearly went too aggressive. That's how they of course got excluded. We know that when we drop the car you gain performance, but with all these big bumps around here you have to be a bit careful.
Max Verstappen fumed at Gianpiero Lambiase over the Red Bull radio during the United States Grand Prix (Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images)Have your say! Is Max Verstappen the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time? Join the debate in the comments section.
"Looking back at the weekend, we were probably not at our strongest for those kinds of reasons. So, it's a bit difficult to say. For sure from the beginning of the year to now, the teams behind us have been catching up, for sure, but how much? It's also every weekend seems a bit different, sometimes they are closer, sometimes they are further away."
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