Major blow to Max Verstappen as Red Bull close aide set to miss the F1 Austrian GP

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will race in the Austrian GP without his close aide and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase this weekend. The Dutch driver has formed a formidable partnership with his race engineer ever since he started racing for the Austrian team in Spain in 2016.

The Anglo-Italian has been in Verstappen's ears ever since and has played a crucial role in the latter's success in the sport. The 27-year-old could be heard having some arguments with his race engineer during the races, with the latter also often giving straightforward responses.

While many have been irked by their dynamic, Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase have stood steadfast in their approach and stood by each other amidst criticism. However, as reported by de Telegraaf, Lambiase would miss the Austrian GP this weekend due to personal reasons.

Lambiase would be replaced by Simon Rennie, who was previously the race engineer of Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull and Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus. Rennie was a regular in the F1 paddock in the 2010s, but is currently the Group Leader of Simulation Engineering.

Heading into the FP1 session, it would be fascinating to see how Max Verstappen interacts with Rennie, who, in his time, has been on the end of a few angry rants from Raikkonen.

Max Verstappen previews the Austrian GP this weekend

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that it was not a guarantee that he would perform well at the Red Bull Ring in 2025 despite his stellar record at the Austrian GP in previous years.

Speaking in the pre-race press conference, the reigning four-time F1 world champion previewed his chances this weekend and said:

"I mean, there are no guarantees. So, yeah, we’ll always, of course, try to do our best. In the past, yes, we’ve had a lot of great races here. I mean, some, I think, back then were also unexpected wins. So, in a way, maybe we come into this weekend again, not as favourites, for sure. "But I know that myself and the team, will always try to optimise everything that we can. It looks like quite a warm weekend as well, so it’s going to be tough to make the tyres last anyway. But I’m excited. I’m here to do the best I can, and of course, I hope to be on the podium."

Verstappen also shed light on the new updates to the RB21 brought on for the race and added:

"Yeah, I mean, hopefully it gives us a bit more performance. The team has been working hard to get these parts. So, of course, I’m very happy that we have an upgrade here. And yeah, every little bit forward will help us be more competitive and hopefully close the gap a little bit."

Max Verstappen has won five times at the Red Bull Ring, including twice in the same year in 2021.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam