Verstappen: “Yeah I don’t give a f*** if I’m through in P10! It’s just s*** execution.”
Lambiase: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down? But you tell me what you want to do in Q3, and we’ll do it. Let me know. Sets, fuel, run plan…”
It led to an apology from Verstappen after taking pole, but the digs from his engineer appeared to continue as the race unfolded.
“You used a lot of tyre on the out lap, Max. Not sure that was sensible,” was one message.
“This tyre had reasonable degradation in the first stint. I’d ask you to use your head a bit more,” was another.
Given the fact Verstappen was cruising to his eighth victory in a row (or tenth if you count the two Sprints in that run) and comfortably clear of the field, it was an odd time for things to be getting heated. In fact, it felt like perhaps half of it was just the pair keeping themselves entertained.
Even if Verstappen is described as “a very demanding customer”, don’t expect a breakdown in the relationship anytime soon.
Stewards hurt the Sprint
As good a story as it was for Oscar Piastri to lead a lap and finish second, and Pierre Gasly to secure a top three for Alpine, the big talking point after the sprint on Saturday revolved around Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.
Hamilton’s attempt to overtake on the inside of Paul Frere – having got a run out of Stavelot – was understandably defended hard by Perez, but with the Mercedes on his inside and fully alongside, in those conditions there needed to be collaboration from both sides.
As Hamilton understeered after getting on the inside kerb, Perez was still trying to squeeze the Mercedes after the apex. Nothing wrong with that, it was hard racing, but the outcome of light contact between the two surely was as a result of how both were battling. And that should be encouraged not punished.
The sprint rules were changed specifically to try and increase the likelihood of racing by removing the risk of an issue ruining a driver’s Sunday grid position, as it’s now a standalone event. And yet despite having made such a big move in terms of the format of the event, the stewards penalised the one bit of hard racing that stood out.
Hamilton’s understated reaction shouldn’t be mistaken for acceptance that he was at fault, but more an indifference to the Sprint itself, and that will only have been amplified when he’s made an example of that other drivers will also be following. The precedent set is for any contact to be punished, and even a five-second time penalty is more likely to have an impact in a short Sprint race when gaps are smaller.
As Jenson Button succinctly put it on social media at the time: “Lewis penalty is totally wrong”. But for more than just its impact on Saturday’s result.
The changing face of Alpine
On Friday morning, word came through of Pat Fry’s impending move to Williams being announced, but also that it might not be the only change at Alpine.
A quick visit to the team showed it was in crisis comms mode, and something was afoot. But after issuing denials, it insists no changes were confirmed until the hour before the announcement of Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane’s departures was released.