F1 News: Max Verstappen Defends Fiery Conversations With Race Engineer - "How I Operate”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have often been known for their heated conversations on the radio, unlike any other team's driver-engineer pairing. While many describe their conversations to be 'rude' or 'aggressive,' the 2023 world champion clarified that the fiery conversations helped him to perform his best.
While heated debates with drivers and their race engineers may not be a normal thing. But, with Verstappen and Lambiase, they could argue over the radio and later pretend as if nothing happened after the race.
Verstappen revealed that “it’s how the relationship works" with his race engineer. On the contrary, he would be very upset "to have an engineer who is very monotone or just says ‘copy… check that’."
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When Autosport asked Verstappen if Liambase's tone pushed him to perform his best in 2023, he said:
“Yeah, you just need a bit of fire. That’s how I like to operate.”
However, the Dutchman has one complaint directed towards Formula 1, that all radio conversations are aired on TV for the fans to watch, which probably leads people to think differently about the conversations. However, numbers indicate that the audience seems to like watching the heated discussions. He added:
“I guess people love it.
“But that’s our relationship. We are very straightforward and if we don’t like something we of course communicate.
“It’s also a bit F1’s fault [that the messages get so much attention] because they broadcast everything just to throw it out there.
“They don’t need to broadcast it – if you know what I mean. So, I guess they also like the excitement coming out.
“But, our relationship has never really changed in that manner. And also after the race we are absolutely fine because, of course, we are there to win the race.”
