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Verstappen without Lambiase: different voice for Max in Abu Dhabi
Observant viewers heard during the second free practice session that Max Verstappen was not talking to Gianpiero Lambiase over the board radio. It was someone else who was in contact with the three-time world champion in the RB19? It was Tom Hart who took over the role of being Max's race engineer from Lambiase.
GPblog went to Abu Dhabi to investigate and contacted Red Bull Racing to find out why didn't Verstappen hear Lambiase's voice in his ear during FP2? Lambiase was in fact just present at the Yas Marina Circuit and could even be seen at Red Bull's pit wall.
The Austrian racing stable explained: 'It's just to let him [Tom Hart] practice.' Lambiase and Hart swapped roles this Friday. 'GP' therefore performed the role of performance engineer and Hart was thus, for one day, the race engineer of the number one car. On Saturday, Lambiase will again take the honours as Verstappen's race engineer.
Lambiase and Hart swap roles
What is the difference between these two roles? The race engineer is responsible for overseeing his or her driver's entire weekend, looking at the big picture of the runs being done, working with the strategists and making decisions on the pit wall during the race, while the performance engineer is there to sift through the driver's data and feedback to build the best race car for the conditions.
For Verstappen - at least it seemed - it took some getting used to the fact that he now did not have a Lambian in his ear. Coming out of the pit lane in the closing stages of FP2, the 26-year-old Dutchman seemed to be told relatively late that Oscar Piastri was storming past at great speed.