Good atmosphere at Red Bull. Max Verstappen assumed on Thursday that he refused to let his teammate Sergio Pérez pass at the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday, to allow him to take second place in the Formula 1 World Championship. The Dutchman also accused the media of explanations “ridiculous” and “disgusting”.
On the last lap in Sao Paulo, Red Bull asked Verstappen, long assured of his second world championship title, to let Pérez overtake him, for the gain of a sixth place which, although anecdotal, would have allowed the Mexican to pass Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in second place in the world. It is right in his boots that he returned to the incident, Thursday, during a press conference before the GP of Abu Dhabi, last round of the year: “In the end I did nothing wrong, it’s just that people misunderstood what happened. »
If he refused, Verstappen explained that it was in reaction to “something that happened earlier in the season”. According to the specialized press, the Dutchman believes that Pérez purposely had an accident in Monaco at the end of qualifying, preventing Verstappen from finishing his lap and forcing him to start behind him in the race. In the end, Pérez had won and Verstappen finished 3rd.
“If he has two titles, it’s thanks to me”
On Thursday, Pérez dismissed such “speculation” and said he “didn’t do it on purpose”. He added that Red Bull wanted to deal with it “internally”. Hot in Sao Paulo, however, the Mexican did not mince his words: “It shows who he really is”, he reacted in radio communication.
“If he has two titles, it’s thanks to me”, had also added “Checo”, in reference to the many helping hands that this lieutenant offered to his leader, in 2021 as in 2022. This year in Spain by example, Pérez had accepted his team’s order to let “Mad Max” pass, who had ended up victorious.