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Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpeiro Lambiese is known for giving as good as he gets on the team radio.
Here’s a look at his history and some of the best team radio quotes between Max and his engineer.
Gianpiero Lambiese 'GP'
Gianpiero Lambiase, known as “GP,” is an Italian-British Formula One engineer born on October 14, 1980, in Bedford, England.
Lambiase began his F1 career in 2005 with Jordan, which evolved into Midland, Spyker, and eventually Force India, where he held key roles, including working with drivers like Giancarlo Fisichella and Paul di Resta.
He joined Red Bull Racing in 2015, where he was first race engineer to Daniil Kvyat before assuming the same role for Max Verstappen, guiding the driver since 2016. He has taken 3 world-driver’s titles with Max in that time period.
Lambiase became Red Bull’s Head of Race Engineering in 2022 but it still race engineer to Verstappen.
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Max and GP best team radio
Max Verstappen is known for being a passionate, aggressive and sometimes angry racing driver. On occasion, that angers spills over on to the team radio where he lets his frustration out at his race engineer, GP.
GP has built a reputation for not taking any *** from Max. Whatever tone or expletives Max aims at him, GP is always cool, calm and brings Verstappen back down to earth.
Here’s a look back at some of Max’s and GP’s best team radio moments.
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Singapore 2016:
Max: Woah, there’s a giant lizard on the track.
GP: Face to face with Godzilla then mate?
Later that session.
Max: There’s another lizard on the track. Maybe this time a smaller one.
GP: Ok understood, maybe Godzilla had a kid.
Spain 2022:
GP: DRS did not open.
Max: I had no ******* DRS. Man we can’t even make the ******* DRS work. Unbelievable.
GP: Max I think you may have closed it last time round.
Max: Because I’m pressing it 50 ******* times before it opens!
Miami 2023:
Max: Well in a bit you need to let me know what the limitation on the medium was. Do we know what it had to do with the front wing?
GP: Max I’m looking at that on the pit wall. You focus on driving please.
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Spa 2023:
After Max only just made it through Q2 in to Q3 in position 10.
Max: I should have just pushed two laps in a row like I said. Ahh ****.
GP: But you are through, Max,
Max: Yeah I don’t give a *** if I’m through in P10. It’s just *** execution.
GP: You tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it. Let me know. Sets, fuel, run plan.
Then Max went on to take pole position in Q3.
Max: And sorry to GP for being on the rant
GP: I’m slowly getting used to it Max.
And the next day, during the Grand Prix:
GP: This tyre had reasonable degradation in the first stint. I’d ask you to use your head a bit more.
Max: I could also push on and we do another stop? A little bit of pit stop training perhaps?
GP: No, not this time.
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Spain 2023:
GP: You’ve been given a black and white flag so you cannot afford any errors (be cautious).
Max goes on to set fastest lap of the race.
GP: Ok now can you bring it home between the white lines. Thank you.
Max: Jaja
Hungary 2024:
Max pushed 100% on an outlap after putting for a fresh set of tyres, rather than bringing them up to speed gently.
GP: Well that’s some gentle introduction…
Max: No mate don’t give me that ****. You guys gave me this **** strategy, ok? I’m trying to rescue what’s left.
Later that race Max made contact with Lewis after a lunge on the brakes, and lost a couple of positions.
Max: He moved under braking.
GP: I’m not even going to get in to a radio fight with the other teams Max. We’ll let the stewards do their things. It’s childish on the radio Max. Childish.
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Abu Dhabi 2021:
After winning the world title on the last lap of the race.
GP: OH MY LORD MAX!! OH MY LORD!
Max: YEEEAHHHHSSSSS
GP: YOU’RE THE WORLD CHAMPION
Max: OH MY GOD!
It was Albon who screamed OH MY LORD, MAX! in Abu Dhabi, not GP.
Don’t think it was Albon… why would he have been on the radio to Max!?