Sergio Perez was in disbelief after Max Verstappen ignored team orders and refused to let him pass at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, saying over the team radio that it ‘shows who he really is’.
The Mexican had allowed his Red Bull team-mate to pass earlier in the race to try and chase down Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc, but it soon became clear that the Dutchman did not have the pace to do so.
As such, Red Bull instructed Verstappen to give the place back on the final lap so Perez could bank more points in the race to finish second in the championship, but he refused.
Instead, Perez will go to the final race in Abu Dhabi level on points with Leclerc and he was furious that Verstappen – who has already wrapped up his second title – did not help him out given how much support he has provided his team-mate over the past two seasons.
Directly after the race, Perez said sarcastically over the team radio: ‘Thank you for that guys, thank you. This shows who [Verstappen] really is.’
He had not cooled off by the time he did his media interviews, saying: ‘I was told to let him by, and that I was going to get the position back. I don’t know what the communications were with him on his side.
‘After all I’ve done for him, I’m disappointed, to be honest. I have no idea [why], I’m really surprised. I think if he has two championships, it’s thanks to me.’
Verstappen, meanwhile, refused to apologise and insists they have cleared the air already, while he told Perez to focus on securing second spot in Abu Dhabi next week.
‘I have my reasons for that. We just discussed that,’ Verstappen told Sky Sports after the race. ‘I think that it was good that we just sat together and talked about it, so we can move forward from here.
‘For sure, if we go to Abu Dhabi and he needs it – they are tied, you know, so it’s not the end of the world, it’s all about who finishes ahead anyway. If he needs the help, I’ll be there, but it’s good that we talk about it now and cleared everything that was there, on why we didn’t do it.’
Team principle Christian Horner also tried to draw a line under the incident, saying: ‘The drivers have obviously spoken about it – they’re very, very clear – and for us, Checo is now tied on points with Charles as Ferrari didn’t switch their cars around. We go into Abu Dhabi as a team to do the best we can for Checo to achieve second place, and Max will fully support that.’
He continued: ‘I’m not going to go into what we’ve discussed behind closed doors. The drivers have discussed it, shaken hands and we’re absolutely focussed on the next race.
‘We work as a team, race as a team. Our objective and priority is to see if we can get Checo to finish as runner-up in the championship. It’s something we’ve never achieved as a team before, and Max has given his commitment as well that we’ll be doing the best we can in Abu Dhabi to achieve that. It’s a straight fight between Checo and Charles, and if Max can help in any way, he will do.’
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