Red Bull star Max Verstappen went into the Abu Dhabi GP in contention for the title, yet winning the race wasn’t enough to clinch his fifth title. As Lando Norris crossed the chequered flag in P3 and won the title, Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase broke down and was comforted by Helmut Marko.Max Verstappen was 104 points behind the championship leader after the Dutch GP. However, the upgrades to the RB21 brought at the Italian GP did wonders, and the Dutchman was once again contending for race wins.Going into the season finale, the gap was cut down to just 12 points. Verstappen needed to win the race and for Lando Norris to finish P4 or lower to take home his fifth title. The Red Bull star did all he could, took the pole position, dominated the race weekend, but it wasn’t enough to win the title as Norris finished in third place.As the race ended and Lando Norris was crowned the champion, Max Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, broke down on the pitwall. The Dutchman and his race engineer are close friends and share a special bond.Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer since the Dutchman stepped into the Red Bull seat midway through the 2016 season, and won their debut race together as race engineer-driver duo. Gianpiero Lambiase won four consecutive titles with Verstappen from 2021 to 2024.As GP broke down after Verstappen lost the title to Lando Norris, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was seen consoling the race engineer on the pitwall.Verstappen ended the season as the runner-up, two points behind the 2025 F1 champion Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri finished the race in P2 and ended 13 points behind his teammate.Max Verstappen proud of Red Bull despite losing the 2025 title to Lando NorrisRed Bull star Max Verstappen took to the team radio after the chequered flag at the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP. The Dutchman detailed the team’s comeback in the second half, and said that he was proud of the team.“Congrats guys. What a comeback in the second half of the season. We can be really proud of that. Don't be too disappointed, I am definitely not disappointed. Really proud of everyone who never gave up,” said Max Verstappen.“Keep pushing, never giving up, believing in making it a success again even when it was really difficult so, thank you very much everyone. Thank you Honda for all these years together and all these amazing successes we've had. Definitely closed it in style,” said he added.Verstappen was one of the first drivers to congratulate Norris after parking up on the main straights.