Max Verstappen loses the key all over the Austrian general practitioner for the first time in Red Bull career

Max Verstappen is used to having racing engineer Gianpiero Lambian always in his corner in a Grand Prix weekend, but will have to do it without his old ally in Austria

Max Verstappen has to navigate through the Austrian Grand Prix -weekend without one of his nearest Formula 1 federation to guide him. The long-term racing engineer Gianpiero Lambian of the Dutchman has not made the trip to Spielberg unusually.

Lambiase has been the voice in the ear of Verstappen throughout his Red Bull Racing career. Known in the people in F1 Paddock as ‘GP’, he came to Red Bull in 2015 after working for Force India for more than ten years, where he was joined in 2005 when it still competed as Jordan Grand Prix.

We were initially racing engineer of Daniil Kvyat, but when the Russian was replaced by a young Verstappen in the middle season, he remained in the role. Since then they have formed a very close bond, Lambiase helps the Dutchman who over the years from a prodigy to a four-time F1 champion.

But he will not be able to help Verstappen in Austria this weekend. Lambiase did not travel for the 11th event of the current F1 season, absent due to personal circumstances.

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It is the first time that Verstappen took the step to the Top Red Bull team during the 2016 season that Lambiase has missed a race. In his place, Simon Rennie will act as the Race Engineer of Verstappen to help him lead the Austrian GP weekend.

Rennie has a lot of experience in the role after he has carried out it for people like Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen in Renault. He joined Red Bull in 2013 and initially served as a racing engineer to mark Webber and then to Daniel Ricciardo before he went to a factory role in 2019.

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He is no stranger to temporary stints back on the track, after he served as Alex Albon’s Race Engineer in 2020 for a short spell. Rennie is expected to enter only one weekend with Lambiase, which is expected to return to his job tasks on the British Grand Prix of next Sunday.

Part of Rennie’s responsibilities will be to help Verstappen to stay out of trouble this weekend in Spielberg, where the Dutchman still chatts a beams. He remains only one way of a racing suspension, with two of the 11 points that he has currently set to expire before the Silverstone race.

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Red Bull introduces an upgrade package in the next two racing weekends, which will be their last major effort of the season before they switch their full focus to their 2026 machine. If the upgrades do not set the car on the same footing with the dominant McLarens, then Verstappen’s hope for a successful title defense will certainly be over.

“Of course I know that too,” said the 27-year-old. “We will see how much a difference can actually make this upgrade package. There are now a few races where something is still possible, and then we will see where we stand.”