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Verstappen hard on engineer: 'Can because he is so clearly the number one'
Max Verstappen has been bickering with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase several times in recent races. This sometimes makes it seem like the relationship between the two is not always good, however, this is not the case. Formula 1 analyst Jolyon Palmer also sees nothing serious in the bickering between the two and even indicates that it is something all the sport's greats have done.
Bickering Verstappen and Lambiase
At the last Grand Prix before the summer break, it was touch and go again. Lambiase asked Verstappen to use his wits in the duel with teammate Sergio Perez. To this, the Dutchman had a clear answer: "I assume both cars do, right?" Verstappen's engineer remained calm and then replied, "You just follow my instruction".
In his column on Formula1.com, Palmer explains why it is accepted that Verstappen can be so harsh towards his engineer. "Because Max is so clearly the number one driver, he has the power and authority to have people dance to his tune at the moment, and it’s working. The results speak for themselves. We hear some disagreement from time to time over the radio but once the dust has settled and the Dutch and Austrian anthems have played yet again, it doesn’t matter."
'All F1 greats have been able to do this'
Verstappen is certainly not the first to occasionally 'fight' with his engineer over the radio. "It’s something that all the greats in the past have been able to do – use their clout in the team to make suggestions and further enhance a winning machine. The important thing is to also be open minded about suggestions from the team as well and I’m sure behind closed doors Max is just that. After all, in Formula 1 you don’t get into such a dominant winning position on your own.," Palmer concluded.