10/11/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen and his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase have been recalling the first time they worked together... a moment that will go down in F1 history.
This year, in particular, their sparring over the radio has often been one of the more entertaining aspects of a season Red Bull and the Dutchman have totally dominated.
For every comment or complaint that the precocious three-time world champion comes out with, the London-born Italian puts him firmly in his place, clearly drawing on both sides of his heritage.
Recently however, the pair sat down to discuss the first time they worked together, the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when the Dutch teenager was drafted in from Toro Rosso at short notice to replace a struggling Daniil Kvyat and famously went on to win on his Red Bull debut.
"It was pretty insane, joining the team the week before, going through simulator sessions that I had to do, getting used to the car, the procedures," admits Verstappen, according to his own website.
"I honestly had no expectations at the time," he adds. "I needed to learn so many things. Suddenly the pressure of being in a top team.
"On the grid, I think Christian came to me and said, 'Well, you know, just enjoy, no pressure, try to score a few points'. So yeah, okay. It was my first race, I think he meant well, 'Don't do anything silly', basically."
According to Lambiase, the youngster, in his determination to impress, was a little too enthusiastic.
"It was his downfall in qualifying," he said. "He was almost so happy to be there, everything was going well, he felt he could keep going on based on talent, and keep chipping away at it, and he'll keep finding time.
"Eventually, I think the last run of Q3 Daniel (Ricciardo) ended up pipping you."
"I tried to push too much, based on what I knew of the car, and I just overdrove it," admits Verstappen.
"Turn four, it was a beautiful corner that day, in lap one, when two Mercedes cars just disappeared off the road," he continues, referring to the controversial first lap clash involving Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. "Then I knew: 'Okay, we might be on the podium here, today, if I hold on in the race'. Because, again, it was my first proper race in that car, so it was definitely different to what I was used to. In terms of speed, it was quite a bit faster. Well, how the race panned out: I could look after my tyres quite well, we did the two stop, I had to keep Kimi behind for quite a few laps.
"I kept telling myself: 'This is gonna be my first win, I can't lock up, I can't do anything wrong here'. And I kept telling myself that until the last lap, and I crossed the line and won the race.
"GP was completely shocked," he laughs. "You work to get into Formula 1. You dream of being on a podium one day, of being on the top step. Once I stood there, it was quite emotional."