During the 2022 Formula One season, several on-plus off-track Melo dramas took place. One of the most loved dramas was of Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergi Perez. It began at the Moncan Grand Prix, where during Q3, Checo had a crash. This crash seemed to have occurred naturally, but he was blamed for initiating it intentionally so that the session ended prematurely and the driver’s grid position remained where they were at the moment.
Unfortunately, Max Verstappen was at the very back that he expected and got the incident as Checo’s strategy. The colliding was later analyzed, and many said it was too abnormal to occur naturally. In addition, it occurred as soon as Perez completed his fastest lap.
Verstappen Was Supported After Ditching Sergio Perez In Interlagos
Whatever the reason behind Sergio Perez colliding with barriers in Moncao, it ultimately paved the way for the season’s first win. However, the drama seemingly ended with the end of the Monaco Grand Prix, but the plot twist appeared in Interlagos. When in Brazil, Max Verstappen took revenge from Perez for that Monaco intentional/natural, yet unknown crash. What happened in Brazil is known to all. Max Verstappen denied returning Checo’s position, which prevented him from scoring points that paved the way for Charles Leclerc’s runner-up position in the driver’s standings.
When Max broke the strategic condition that was made by the team on the spot in Interlagos, he got criticized by the world. Max Verstappen had already won the title and had the highest scores, and still, he was greedy for a position. Such a selfish, and even his fans criticized him as Checo only said, “After what I have done for him, this was really disappointing.”
But from team Red Bull, the boss, head, or anyone, not a single time came out to criticize Max’s selfish move. Instead, Horner started speaking in favor of the two-time world champion. He said, “This was the result of the frustration for being on P7 for the time in the season. He was not prepared for the incident”.
“Sergio Perez Should Accept Him As Valtteri Bottas Of Mercedes,” Says Max Verstappen
But, this was not justified at all. Max Verstappen was not prepared for the race incident, and so he denied following the team’s order. And what about Sergio Perez, who simply abided by the order and let Max go through him? It is one of the biggest truths that the one with more wins gets more value. Verstappen and Perez both got the same RB18, yet only Max won 15.
With these numbers and stats going in favor of Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez often gets shadowed. Does it not resemble with past? Like what happened in Mercedes during the time of Lewis Hamilton’s domination. The team got Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, both were given the same cars, but Hamilton was the one who used to win and get valued more. Bottas was the same as Sergio Perez is now in Red Bull. You may not believe it, but at least Max Verstappen believes so.
After the season ended, max Verstappen appeared to speak about Sergio Perez. Max believes that Checo needs to accept his role. He referenced the ex-Mercedes driver and said, “Every year he [Valtteri Bosttas] started fresh, but just after few races, he realizes that it is not going to happen again and you accept your role there.”
Just like, Valtteri, also Checo finished on podiums, won a few races, and took pole positions. But, “You just have to accept that the driver next to you is just a bit better. That’s fine, and that can happen.”