– After many years as Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Ferrari should have signed Gianpiero Lambiase as Lewis Hamilton’s new partner. Tom Clarkson puts forward this thesis in the “F1 Nation” podcast.
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Clarkson worked as a journalist for years and now works for Formula One Management as a reporter. In this position, he can be heard not only at the official Formula 1 press conferences but also on the official fan podcast of the Grand Prix World Championship.
“McLaren made a really good decision with [the signing of Lambiase] because he was ready to leave Red Bull behind,” explains Clarkson. “I think GP [the race engineer’s nickname] would have been perfect for Ferrari.”
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The discussion surrounding the Scuderia’s personnel is based, among other things, on Hamilton’s disappointing race weekend in Spa-Francorchamps. Here, for example, the seven-time world champion had to contend with a five-second time penalty because he collided with George Russell on the first lap.
Furthermore, the Ferrari driver’s pit stop was anything but clean. As a result, the racing team also missed the chance to adjust the damaged front wing of the most successful Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport.
Clarkson therefore emphasizes about Lambiase: “[He speaks] fluent Italian, is a brilliant engineer, and speaks fluent English. Imagine what it would be like if he were the one to [work] with Lewis Hamilton. He would be the buffer between […] Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the team. I’m really surprised Ferrari didn’t get him.”
Alex Brundle, a racing driver and TV expert, views the situation surrounding Lambiase, Hamilton, and Ferrari somewhat more nuancedly.
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“Either it would work immediately, or it wouldn’t work immediately,” were his words. The Red Bull culture, in which top performance is demanded from young drivers, is comparable to the race engineer’s communication style.
“Even when Max [Verstappen] performs, GP has no problem telling him on the radio: ‘Max, that’s childish. I don’t like that.'”
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“I can’t imagine,” says Brundle, “that a Lewis Hamilton would tolerate that on the radio. If that were the type of communication, he would adjust his environment accordingly.””
“But,” Clarkson countered, “I think GP is intelligent enough to get the best out of any conceivable driver. Be it Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, or Lando Norris at McLaren.”
From 2028, Lambiase will work for the Woking-based racing team. Here he will work as “Chief Racing Officer”. Lambiase thus takes on a position that Team Principal Andrea Stella most recently also held.
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Hamilton, on the other hand, was more than thrilled with his new race engineer Carlos Santi just a few weeks ago. After all, he referred to him as his “Italian Bono” before the Monaco Grand Prix.
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