FORMULA 1 ABU DHABI GP LEWIS HAMILTON RUMOURS

Lambiase emotional after a tough season alongside Verstappen

20:37, 07 Dec

byTim Kraaij

Gianpiero Lambiase was quite emotional after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A departure for 'GP' is not on the cards, where that situation may apply to top advisor Helmut Marko.

Over the team radio, Verstappen thanked his loyal race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase for the great season. The four-time world champion narrowly missed out on his fifth consecutive title, but was particularly proud of the team. “We showed them one final time who’s boss,” Verstappen said over the radio.

Lambiase emotional after Abu Dhabi GP

Those who saw Lambiase on the pit wall and in the paddock afterwards might have thought, after Verstappen’s words, that the partnership between the duo could be coming to an end. After the Abu Dhabi GP, GPblog asked Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies about the emotional team radio conversation following the season finale.

"Everything is at the limit all the time. And it applies to everyone in the organization, so we are all at the limit all the time. And again, it's good news to be in this sort of high-intensity fight. That's the result of a huge amount of work. So, of course, the season has been long and tough, but we experienced it with a historical comeback that I hope will go into a few history books."

Photo: RacePictures

GPblog has since learned that Lambiase was not emotional due to an impending departure, but because of the difficult season he has endured due to private reasons. Verstappen’s race engineer had already missed two races this season for private reasons.

Verstappen comforts Lambiase

Verstappen himself also opened up about what he said to his race engineer and good friend. He shared: “It's been an emotional year, I think, in that sense. Forget about the results this year. I don't want to go too much into detail, but it's been tough.

“I'm very happy to be able to work with someone that passionate. He's my race engineer, but I see him as my friend. We have lived through so many emotional things together and fantastic achievements. I'm sure that he was a bit emotional after the flag.

“I'm actually looking forward to leaving here and going to chat with him. It's not been easy at times for him. I'm just very proud to be able to work with someone as good as well and, again, also a proper example of someone who never gave up this season, even through the difficult times,” he concluded.

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