Croft praises Lambiase: 'He doesn't accept nonsense from Max'

It was perhaps the most striking thing during the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps: the bickering between race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and Max Verstappen. Earlier, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner talked about the relationship between the two men. Commentator David Croft also sees a strong bond between 'GP' and Verstappen.

"I think they are the best combination for each other. That they can possibly have. GP is vastly experienced, he's been around the sport a long long time. He was Paul di Resta's race engineer for many years at Force India. He takes no nonsense from Max," Croft told the Sky Sports Formula 1 podcast.

"He understands, he has the patience, he absorbs it all, and he puts Max, I wouldn't say puts him away, but he puts Max right, in a way that Max respects. There is a huge amount of respect there from the pair of them. They work together superbly well, they both know each others faults. And each others pros," Croft said.

Verstappen stands head and shoulders above everyone else in the current Formula 1 season. The reigning world champion has a 125-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez alone. Red Bull Racing is also streets ahead of the number two in the constructors' championship.