Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase held clear-the-air talks after radio rage

Christian Horner has revealed that he sat down with Max Verstappen and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to clear the air following the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Verstappen voiced his frustration towards his engineer, Lambiase, and the wider Red Bull team during the race at the Hungaroring last weekend.

The Dutchman was annoyed by Red Bull’s decision to stop him late, thus dropping him behind Lewis Hamilton.

Lambiase made it clear to Verstappen he didn’t want to engage in a “childish” exchange on the team radio following the Red Bull driver’s clash at Turn 1.

On Thursday at Spa-Francorchamps, they cleared the air, with Horner present.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Saturday, Horner said: “We’ve been working with Max for eight years. He’s a very passionate guy. That’s part of his make up that makes him as good as he is. 

“When he gets frustrated he vents. We’ve heard that many times. I am sure if you had a microphone on every Premier League player you’d hear some venting. The problem now with where the sport is there’s a microphone before he gets in the car, in the car and when he gets out of the car.

“What he was venting about is not nice listening to but it’s a driver that’s very passionate about what he does. It’s a spike with them then it comes down. GP and him have had a long relationship, they know each other inside out. We sat down and discussed it on Thursday. I think it’s a blip and we move on from that.”

Horner quipped that it was ‘like a bit of counselling’ and that the best way to squash any issues is to talk about it openly.

Horner added: “It’s like after a bit of counselling. Thursday is OK guys, let’s go through weekend. The best way to deal with any issue is talk about it, talk through it. Max and GP did that. Already turned the page, focused on this week and try to go into the summer break in the best possible shape.”

Horner also defended his decision not to intervene over team radio.

“At that point, there’s absolutely no point,” he explained. “You’re just going to inflame him. Max, he’s driving his heart out there. He’s driving with a huge amount of passion. All you’re going to do is inflame it.

“You just let him get it out of his system. He calms down very quickly. Even by the time we got to the airport in the evening he was totally calm. Every driver is different. You listen to Oscar on the radio, he doesn’t say a word. You listen to Max, he gets a different experience.”