Ben Hunt is an award-winning motorsport journalist with over two decades of experience in Formula 1 and international media. As a former editor-in-chief and bestselling author, he delivers in-depth analysis and strategic insight from the highest level of the sport.
Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase will almost certainly finish their partnership as the second most successful driver and race engineer pairing in Formula 1 history. Tom Hart takes over the radio in Austin, and the numbers show the record held by Lewis Hamilton and Peter Bonnington is now out of reach.
As GPblog reported in Verstappen to miss Lambiase for three Grands Prix after emotional Singapore win, Hart will engineer Verstappen in Austin, Brazil and Las Vegas, that means Lambiase will continue in Mexico City, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
Ten wins short of Hamilton and Bono
The Singapore victory took the pair to 73 wins together and Verstappen and Lambiase are the second most successful driver-engineer pairing in F1 history, only behind Lewis Hamilton-Peter Bonnington, who achieved 83 wins and six drivers' titles together at Mercedes between 2013 and 2024.
That leaves a gap of 10 wins (and two world titles). Verstappen and Lambiase would need 10 more wins to match the record and 11 to take it outright.
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The Mercedes figure is sometimes given as 84, which is Hamilton's win total for the team but together the Hamilton-Bonnington partnership won 83 of his 84 races for Mercedes, with the exception being the 2019 Mexican GP where Bonnington was absent for medical reasons. Performance engineer Marcus Dudley was on the radio for that win.
Three races and a best case of 76
Six Grands Prix remain in 2026, and only half of them will have Lambiase on the radio. Even if Verstappen won Mexico City, Qatar and the finale, the partnership would end the year on 76 wins, seven short of Hamilton and Bonnington.
The record was already out of reach this season. A clean sweep of all six remaining races with Lambiase would have stopped at 79. Tom Hart is expected to become Verstappen's race engineer next season, and the transition is already beginning before 2026 is over, as Lambiase prepares to move to McLaren.
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