Wouldn’t you say Max Verstappen and Red Bull are a match made in Formula 1 heaven? Since the Dutchman joined the Milton-Keynes squad as an 18-year-old in 2016, he’s had monumental success, and a lot of it has been because of his sheer talent. While certain aspects at Red Bull have changed for Verstappen over the years (including four different teammates), one aspect has stayed the same and that’s GP. And no, that doesn’t stand for “Grand Prix.” GP is Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase. And if there’s a better match than Verstappen and Red Bull made in heaven, it’s Verstappen and GP.

After the Belgian GP, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called Verstappen and GP an old, married couple because of all the heated conversations they had over the airwaves at Spa. And Horner isn’t the only one who feels the duo are perfect together despite some differences occasionally. After watching GP put Max in his place more than a few times in Belgium, Croft said, as quoted by f1maximaal.nl, “I think GP and Max are made for each other. They are the best possible combination for each other.” [Translated by Google]

He continued, “He doesn’t accept nonsense from Max, but he understands that his driver can be irritable at times and wants to be in control. He understands that, has patience and takes it all in, and puts Max in his place in a way that respects Max.” Even when GP had that heated conversation with Verstappen on Friday after Q2, he put his point across in the sternest yet most respectful way, and that’s the most GP thing there is. And not only did that silence Max’s rant, but it also elicited an apology from the two-time champ after Q3.

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Christian Horner mentioned how they’ve worked together since Verstappen got to Red Bull, because of which they know each other through and through. And Crofty said the same. “There is a lot of mutual respect. They work fantastically well together, and they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” But while Crofty just hears what happens over the radio, Horner witnesses what it’s like working alongside them, and more often than not, he’s on the receiving end of their shenanigans.

Max Verstappen and GP’s prank on Christian Horner in Spa

It’s safe to say GP stole the limelight from Verstappen at the Belgian GP last weekend. And everyone got a sneak peek into what their radio communications are like. In the latter part of the race, after Verstappen pitted for soft tires, he was overly aggressive on them on his out-lap when he didn’t need to be. GP then said on the radio, “This tire had reasonable deg in the first stint. I would ask you to use your head a bit more.” Verstappen replied, “I could also push on and do another stop. A little bit of pit stop training?” But GP said, “No, not this time.”

But the call didn’t come from GP. Although GP was the one to tell Verstappen, it was Horner who asked GP not to urge Verstappen to pit for new tires. When Horner was asked after the race if he wanted another pit stop, he said, “No, I could see what was going on, and GP was taking the mickey out of me, saying, ‘Why not?’ And I think we’d done enough this weekend. The Sprint race, a one-two finish. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that signing off into the summer break.” 

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It’s no secret that Verstappen and GP are a formidable duo. And it’s normal for them to have heated conversations occasionally, just as it’s normal for them to gang up against Christian Horner. Did you enjoy listening to GP and Verstappen’s comms?