Max Verstappen explained his radio back and forth during the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix with engineer Gianpiero Lambiase motivated him to overcome a set-up dispute.
After a Red Flag was triggered by Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon’s Lap one crash, Verstappen and Red Bull elected to make a set-up tweak for the race restart with Team Principal Christian Horner explaining post-race an adjustment was made to the front wing angle of the Dutchman’s RB20.
However, not long after the race restarted, Verstappen spoke over the team radio, saying: “Yeah, maybe one or two clicks less is OK.”
Lambiasse gave what has become a typical, tongue-in-cheek response.
“I won’t say I told you so, but understood. Thank you,” he said.
After leading a comfortable Red Bull one-two, Verstappen was asked about this latest comical exchange with his race engineer.
“We had, well, not an argument, but he was like, ‘are you sure you want to do this?’” Verstappen said.
“I’m like, ‘yeah, I’m pretty sure’. Turned out to be wrong. So he was right.
“But in a way, it also fires me up, because I’m like, OK, well, even I’m not entirely happy with the balance now, I’ll still try to be as consistent as I can be without shouting back at him.
“But we have a great relationship. And yeah, it works well like that.”
It’s intriguing to imagine Verstappen needing extra motivation to go on and win a Grand Prix, an achievement he’s managed 57 times.
The Red Bull RB20 is once again the dominant car and Verstappen had the measure of his team-mate Sergio Perez throughout the 53 laps of Suzuka on Sunday.
“Yeah, it was very, very nice,” the Dutchman said post-race of his winning exploits.
“I think the critical bit was, of course, the start, to stay ahead. And after that, actually, the car just got better and better for me throughout the race.
“I don’t know if it had to do, maybe, with the clouds coming in. But yeah, very nice.
“Everything just went really well. Pit stops went well. Strategy, I think, worked out well. Couldn’t have been any better!”
A fired-up, extra-motivated Verstappen showcasing a winning synergy with his race engineer is surely a worrying prospect for the three-time World Champion’s competitors heading to Shanghai in just under a fortnight.
