Formula 1 Belgian GP
Verstappen and Lambiase clear air over Hungarian GP radio outburst
Max Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have drawn a line under their Hungarian GP radio chatter
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 27, 2024, 8:08 AM
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Max Verstappen and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase have cleared the air over their Hungarian Grand Prix radio exchange, following talks with Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner in Belgium.
The reigning world champion's behaviour over the course of last weekend's race at the Hungaroring came under the spotlight after increasingly aggressive radio messages to the pit wall.
As Verstappen grew increasingly exasperated by poor strategy execution from his team, he lashed out several times about how unhappy he was with the situation he faced.
At one point he told Lambiase: "No mate, don't give me that bullshit now. You guys gave me this f***ing strategy, okay? I'm trying to rescue what's left. F*** sake."
The tone of Verstappen's remarks triggered criticism about him going too far and not giving Red Bull the respect it deserved for all the efforts it was making for him.
And while Verstappen was defiant immediately after the Hungarian race – saying critics of him could "f**k off" –he seemed to be in a more conciliatory mood when he arrived in Belgium for this weekend's final F1 race before the summer break.
Motorsport.com understands that Verstappen and Lambiase sat down with Horner and technical director Pierre Wache in the Red Bull motorhome earlier in the weekend to run through the fallout of what happened in Hungary and draw a line under the proceedings.
While the team fully understood Verstappen's frustrations at how things unfolded in Hungary, as the wrong strategy unravelled his efforts, it equally was mindful that there are boundaries of behaviour that need to be kept within.
As well as the meeting with Horner, Verstappen and Lambiase were spotted holding a lengthy private conversation by the Red Bull trucks in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock.
The pair are known to have an honest relationship when it comes to dealing with things, and are not afraid to be critical with each other. This is why they are well able to not let events like last weekend fester for long.
Sources say that the Hungary issue has now been put to bed and that the polite tone of their radio traffic during Friday in Belgium was a clear public message that all was well.
This was highlighted in an amusing discussion relating to session timings.
Speaking ahead of track action getting underway, Verstappen explained that his attitude on the radio was the result of his ultra-competitive nature coming to the fore.
"People that don't like my language don't have to listen to it," he said. "Turn the volume down.
"I am very driven to success. I think I've proven that already. And I always want to optimise stuff. Now, people can argue that you might not be so vocal on the radio but that's their opinion.
"My opinion is that it needs to be said at the time to maybe also try and force that the second pitstop would have been a bit different and yes that's how it goes.
"We are very open-minded we are very critical to each other as a team, and that's been working for us very well. I don't expect that to change."
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