A Red Bull engineering change at the Imola Grand Prix for FP1 saw Gianpiero Lambiase out as Max Verstappen’s regular race engineer.
Red Bull began the first practice at Imola on Friday afternoon with a significant change. Tom Hart replaced Gianpiero Lambiase, the head of race engineering, as Verstappen’s race engineer.
In conversation with motorsport.com, the team explained that this temporary swap aimed to give Hart more experience working as a race engineer.
The team had Hart perform similar duties during FP2 of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to help him better understand Lambiase’s role and improve their working relationship.
Last year, Helmut Marko, said of this experience, “Data engineer and race engineer are each in their positions for the first time.
“And this communication and how they handled it was also very positive.”
Getting more than what he bargained for?
Hart’s guidance during FP1 received more attention than usual due to Verstappen’s series of moments in the final stages of the 60-minute session. The World Champion almost stopped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc from hitting the the top of the timesheets, but a slow middle sector ruined his attempt.
Frustration built as Verstappen radioed in, describing his upgraded Red Bull as a “disaster” and lamenting his lack of grip through the Acque Minerali section. His struggles continued when he went off through the gravel during his third flying lap on soft tires.
During his second effort on softs, Verstappen briefly lost the rear of his RB20 while braking from high speed at the Variante Alta. He quickly caught the snap but had to cut across the grass.
The driver said, “I can’t brake later because then the car wants to bottom really badly, then on the entry to the apex I just have no f****** front.”
Hart provided feedback, noting that Verstappen appeared “a little bit weak” in sector two. Despite his struggles, he finished fifth in FP1.
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Image Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images and Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images.