Max Verstappen had only four words for Sergio Pérez after his Red Bull team-mate helped him by holding off Lewis Hamilton at the final Formula 1 Grand Prix last season.
“‘Checo’ is a legend,” the Dutchman said on radio last December.
The phrase had found its way onto many of the team’s merchandise, and some even began to dub Pérez “Mexico’s Defense Minister” for his efforts to come to the aid of the reigning two-time world champion. F1.
That camaraderie has crumbled since last year, however, after Verstappen beat Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to clinch his first world championship title. The Dutchman consistently refused to come to Pérez’s aid on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, when the team asked him to slow down in order to allow Pérez to finish sixth.
Pérez was expected to finish sixth as he is involved in a fight with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc for second place in the drivers’ championship, a duel which will come to an end next Sunday in Abu Dhabi. Verstappen’s decision not to take orders from Red Bull means Pérez and Leclerc are now level in the standings; if he had complied, then the Mexican would have a cushion of two points in front of the Monegasque.
The radio exchanges between the reigning double world champion and Red Bull were acrimonious, as was the footage that followed of a meeting between team principal Christian Horner and his two drivers in a hospitality tent. Horner was then trying to ease tensions between Verstappen and Pérez, which could come to tarnish Red Bull’s breathtaking season.
“Max, what happened?” questioned Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who had bluntly asked Verstappen to give way to Pérez for sixth position.
Verstappen’s response was succinct: “I already told you. Don’t ever ask me that again. Is that clear ? I have my reasons, and I maintain them. »
On Pérez’s side, Horner immediately apologized to the Mexican. Pérez simply replied, “That says a lot about the man he is. »