Max Verstappen's former teammate Alex Albon claims the Dutchman's ability to be at '100 percent' for every single lap makes him unique on the grid. The two teamed up at Red Bull in 2019 and 2020 but Albon failed to keep up with the now-two-time world champion.
Albon also praised Verstappen's ability to adapt to different cars and tweak his driving style to suit the same. The Dutchman seemed to be on the back foot at the start of 2022 but went on to comfortably win his second consecutive title.
The Williams driver also lauded the 25-year-old's connection with his engineers, claiming that his relationship with them makes it easy to set up a good car.
Alex Albon spoke to the media about Max Verstappen's ability:
“I’d say, obviously there’s just the pure time level. The way that he drives the car as well, it’s clearly quick but it’s not easy to drive and I’m sure you’ve heard that from a few people but it is true. And I think there’s some drivers who possibly have been a bit more comfortable in different ways, he’s very adaptable in how he can drive."
Max Verstappen lauded by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase
Gianpiero Lambiase, the race engineer for Max Verstappen, has praised the Dutch driver for being extremely cooperative to work with. Lambiase, also known as GP, has played an instrumental role in shaping Verstappen's career as a top-tier driver at the age of 25.
According to Verstappen himself, Lambiase is an essential part of his success in the sport, as he provides the necessary information and data behind the scenes. Lambiase noted that Verstappen possesses a rare combination of analytical and innate racing instincts that has led to his two world championship titles. He explained in the Red Bulletin Heroes Verstappen Edition magazine:
“The relationship between a driver and a race engineer is based on mutual trust. The more direct a driver is, the more he trusts the team. My experience is that if a driver stops giving his honest opinion about the car and starts circling it, the results get worse. Max is direct, but so am I. That makes working with him very open, honest, and easy.”
Only time will tell whether GP can help Max Verstappen win his third consecutive title in the sport against rivals Ferrari and Mercedes.