Last year, team Red Bull gave a lot of drama to the world. From throwing great battles with their rivals to initiating disputes between their teammates, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez remained in the spotlight for the entire year. Max Verstappen indeed gained millions of more followers with his spectacular 15 wins last year. But he also lost millions of them after the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Red Bull teammates were about to get separated, but the internal discussions saved it. Sergio Perez was denied getting back what he deserved, he was ditched by Max Verstappen on track, and he definitely did not forget it. Especially not now when the new season is beginning. Checo is heading with the grudges!
The pair’s relationship may seem fine, but somehow, somewhere, Checo has developed a sense of revenge for Max Verstappen. Speaking with Fox Sports, the Mexican driver reflected on his views on how he gotta work in Red Bull after facing betrayal. He says, “Working as a team is always important. But obviously, if I see that I do not receive support when I need it, I won’t give it either.”
Last year, Max Verstappen won the ultimate goal, the double championship, with three races remaining. All the F1 teams headed to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with hopes to win the first race. Mercedes succeeded in claiming their pride back; Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got the podium, proving himself worthy of becoming a world champion. However, they succeeded in doing so because Red Bull was a little off that day, busy with some internal affairs between the drivers.
Sergio Perez Still Ready To Work As A Team…
During the closing laps in Interlagos last season, Max Verstappen was struggling on medium tyres at P7. But his teammate Sergio Perez was ahead of him at P6 behind Alsonso Fernando. Red Bull made a strategy and asked Checo to switch positions with Max on the condition that it would be returned if Verstappen could not overpass the Spaniard ahead of him, which unfortunately happened.
But Verstappen denied returning P6 to Checo. This left him with the least points and made the Ferrari driver surpass him in the driver’s standings. Fans were outraged by his selfish behavior of Max. No matter what the reason behind Max’s refusal to follow the team order was, he could have at least supported his teammate in clinching his only dream, a runner-up position in the driver’s standings.
Later it came out that Max Verstappen perhaps intentionally refused to return back his teammate’s position in order to take revenge for Checo’s intentional crash in Monaco. But, now that an eye for an eye thing is started by the Dutchman, Sergio Perez will not remain silent. He will not support Max Verstappen anymore. However, he knows that the disputes may destroy Red Bull during the time of six car fight. Therefore, when Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, will host a three-way battle, Verstappen and Perez will work as a team, as suggested by Checo.