Baku, November 16, AZERTAC

Shortly before the finish of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing team asked Max Verstappen to let Sergio Perez do his thing. The Mexican is battling Charles Leclerc for second place in the individual standings, he has to score points for this, but Max flatly refused to follow the instructions and we told about this story, according to Athletistic.

After the race, Verstappen, in response to questions from the press, simply said: “I understand that Sergio is upset. But I have also given the team my reasons, it has to do with something that is in the past. happened.” He declined to provide more detailed comments.

As a result, Leclerc and Pérez are tied on points, 290 each, after the Brazilian stage of the championship, but the Ferrari driver is ahead as he has more wins to his credit. There is now a clear tense atmosphere in the championship team, which is marked by the comments of the Mexican, who literally said the following about his partner: “He showed his true face. If he has two titles, it’s thanks to me.”

After this story, the question arises: who is still in charge at Red Bull? And how will further relationships between partners develop? It is clear that Verstappen will be given complete freedom and there is no doubt that he is faster than Perez and it is no coincidence that he has won 14 races and a second title this season. It is also clear that riders of this level are always characterized by selfishness, otherwise they would not have achieved such impressive success. However, Verstappen must put the interests of the team before his own, especially in situations where he is asked to do so.

On social networks, after yesterday’s race, numerous comments appeared from indignant fans who do not choose expressions and express their attitude to the Dutchman in an extremely emotional way. And here are the opinions of former Formula 1 drivers collaborating with German TV channels.

“I think Sergio Perez has shown in his first year at Red Bull how much he can do for the team,” said Ralf Schumacher on RTL. - I think it’s time for Max to repay this debt, but he demonstrates the psychology of a street fighter, and this is a manifestation of selfishness.

Of course he has had tremendous success, but if he behaves like this he could lose the support of the team. I’m not sure it’s worth it - you still have to act like a human being. Max has to weigh everything carefully and moderate his stubbornness.

“Now Sergio will think about helping Max in the future,” added Timo Glock, now an expert at Sky Deutschland. - Don’t forget what he did for Verstappen last year, and now it was all about sixth place in the race. It would have been possible to give Perez a chance to score a few more points.”

Of course, this episode reminded everyone of a different story about the same team, but that happened nine years ago when Sebastian Vettel failed to follow instructions at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix before Mark Webber and the Australian took the win. Obviously the stakes weren’t as big now, but there are still similarities between the two episodes, as Vettel then, in an effort to justify his actions, also spoke about his previous grievances.

After the race in Sao Paulo, Verstappen made it clear that in Abu Dhabi he will help and support his partner if necessary. But it is clear that the atmosphere in the team will no longer be as favorable and friendly as it seemed until recently.

Finally, you can quote Perez’s words in response to the question of whether it is important to him that the teammates have equal opportunities in the team: “Of course it is important. Otherwise it makes no sense to me.”