'Congratulations to Lambiase, who sometimes endures cranky Verstappen'

Over the team radio, it sometimes seems like they are bickering with each other. But Max Verstappen and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase are more than two hands in one. 'GP' has already stated before that he does not want to coach any other F1 driver other than Verstappen, while the three-time world champion is also indebted to Lambiase.

Christian Horner is full of praise for the work of Lambiase, who has been instrumental in Verstappen's success. "He has taken a bromance to the next level this year in terms of managing a driver. So I would also like to congratulate Gianpiero Lambiase for what he has achieved with Max, by putting up with a grumpy Max at times," Horner laughed at an award ceremony this week.

Lambiase honours Verstappen

The Motorsport.com website then heard from Lambiase that he too is proud of what Red Bull and Verstappen managed to achieve this season. The Brit spoke of "an amazing year", in which Verstappen won no fewer than 19 Grands Prix. "I wouldn't change it for anything. Max is an incredible driver. He is very hard on his team, on me but most of all on himself. He sets the bar really high for every competitor, every athlete, every driver who strives to be the best they can be."

Verstappen himself could not comment as he was still on his way back from his short trip to Japan. There, the driver - with teammate Sergio Perez, among others - was active during the Honda Thanks Day, an annual return event at which the Japanese car and engine maker honours its racing stars. So during the demo run, Verstappen also had to do without Lambiase's instructions.