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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Second place finisher Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing looks on in parc ferme during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Second place finisher Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing looks on in parc ferme during the Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Max Verstappen recently scaled the peak of Formula 1 by winning his first-ever drivers’ world championship title. With fans anticipating more such title challenges from the Dutchman in the near future, the 2021 world champion, instead, chose to drop a bombshell.
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Verstappen marched his way into Formula 1 back in 2015 and has since been working with his colleague and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
The duo enjoys a commendable relationship in Formula 1 and a much better understanding than most other drivers and their race engineers.
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Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates after qualifying in pole position Pool via REUTERS/Kamran Jebreili
Of course, there have been some heated conversations on the team radio between the two in the middle of races, but, somehow they’ve always managed to find their way out of troubled waters.
Hence, citing such strong bonding, Verstappen admitted that the day Lambiase walks out of Red Bull is the day he will quit racing in F1.
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What did Max Verstappen say?
As reported by the British media house, Independent, Verstappen opened up that he will retire from F1 the moment his race engineer announces his retirement.
“I have said to him I only work with him. As soon as he stops, I stop too,” Verstappen reportedly told Ziggo Sport. “Of course, we can be pretty strict with each other sometimes. But, I want that too. He has to tell me when I’m being a jerk and I have to tell him. I always told him that.
“He can tell me that on the radio as well. But, it’s been going really well lately. The last few years I tried to be the engineer, and he tried to be the driver,” Verstappen concluded.
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Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
As of now, it is unlikely that Lambiase will quit F1 for the next year or two, but there is indeed a tinge of uncertainty over whether the Brit-Italian would stick with Red Bull Racing beyond that. Overall, a nail-biting few years ahead for Red Bull, who will certainly keep their eyes wide, hoping that Lambiase doesn’t quit anytime soon.
They can afford to lose Lambiase, but they definitely cannot afford to lose a driver like Verstappen, especially considering the fact that the Dutchman restored the team’s glory after 8 years. Let’s see what the future has in stock.
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