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Max Verstappen Teams Up With Ricciardo’s Ex-Engineer as Lambiase Misses Out

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Samriddhi Jaiswal | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 9:52 AM ET

Max Verstappen faced an unexpected shake up at the Austrian Grand Prix and the reigning World Champion seemed more than happy with it.

With his trusted race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase absent for personal reasons Verstappen found himself working with a familiar Red Bull face: Simon Rennie, the man who famously guided Daniel Ricciardo during his years with the team.

It marked the first time Verstappen has raced without Lambiase calling the shots since he was sensationally promoted to Red Bull back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, a race he famously won.

Rennie is hardly a stranger in the paddock. Not only did he partner Ricciardo from 204 to 2018, but he also engineered Alex albon at Red Bull and long before that he also used to be Kimi Raikkonen’s engineer when the Finnish drive screamed “Leave me alone, I know what to do” radio message in 2012 Abu Dhabi.

So how did the pairing go? Verstappen was quick to praise Rennie’s seamless step into Lambiase’s shoes.

“It has been really good with Simon,” Verstappen said. “Of course, I’ve known him for a long time ont he other side of the grarae and working with him in the simulator.”

️ Max Verstappen: "I think so far today has been really good with Simon. I've known Simon for a long time on the other side of the garage, and working with him in the simulator, and he has a lot of experience. So it's been actually very, very good today. Yeah, he was straight on… pic.twitter.com/sxAljy4gwZ
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) June 28, 2025