Verstappen unintentionally put down by his team: 'Red Bull realised that'

F1 News

17 November 2022 at 15:18
Last update 17 November 2022 at 15:51
  • GPblog.com

The air has been cleared between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after the Brazilian Grand Prix. The teammates discussed the incident at Interlagos at length with the team. According to Verstappen, the two are still good friends.

Verstappen faced a lot of criticism after the Grand Prix in Brazil. The Dutchman refused to follow a team order from Red Bull Racing in the closing stages of the race. Verstappen was asked to let his teammate through for sixth position, as Perez was still fighting for second place in the drivers' championship. After the race, the Mexican driver was furious with the media.

Verstappen was unintentionally put down badly by Red Bull

After the race, the teammates sat down to discuss the incident. Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen reveals that everything has been resolved. The two drivers are still good friends. In Abu Dhabi, though, Verstappen will help his teammate where necessary to beat Charles Leclerc in the championship.

"I think we should have done that much earlier in the end. Not only together with Checo, but also with the team. After that race I obviously looked bad, but I think the team also realised that they unintentionally put me down like that. They knew what I was facing because I had already given my reasons before we arrived in Brazil. It was already like that in Mexico. We should have just communicated better about that. We did, and now we also just have to move on. We're still good friends, that's not a problem either. We're going to hope we have a good weekend here", the Dutchman begins.

Looking back at the incident, however, Verstappen would not have handled the situation differently, as there was simply not good enough communication. "At that moment, without communicating with each other, I would just do the same. Then you start talking to each other and throw everything on the table and everyone understood each other. That's what it's all about in the end."