A few laps before the finish of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the team asked Sergio Perez to let Max Verstappen continue, promising that if Max Fernando was unable to overtake Alonso, he would return the position on the final lap. Perez missed a partner, Max was unable to overtake Alonso, but Sergio did not return the position, although Red Bull Racing insisted on the original plan.
After the finish, Max said he had his own reasons for not letting his partner in, and Sergio admitted he was unpleasantly surprised by Verstappen’s performance.
Max Verstappen (6th): “I tried to overtake Lewis Hamilton in the outer radius, but he didn’t leave me room. I had no intention of retreating, there was a contact that resulted in damage to the front wing. In any case, we weren’t fast enough today and we couldn’t do anything.
I didn’t miss Sergio because I had my own reasons for it. We just discussed this with the team. It’s good that we could finally get together and discuss this matter. Now we can move on.
If we come to Abu Dhabi and Sergio needs help, yes, but what happened today is not the end of the world. It doesn’t matter who ends up in front – if he needs help, I’m ready. But it’s good that we talked about it and made it clear why I didn’t miss it.”
Sergio Perez (7th): “The team told me to let Max pass, and if he couldn’t overtake, he would return the position to me. I don’t know what they told him but if he was told to return the position then I don’t understand why he didn’t ask him.
To be honest, I don’t even have anything to say. After everything I’ve done for him, this is disturbing. I am surprised.
Challenging Charles Leclerc for second place? Obviously we didn’t have enough speed this weekend, but I hope we get back into shape in Abu Dhabi.”
Christian Horner, team leader: “We discuss these kinds of matters within the team. The riders have heard a very clear message from us. Sergio now has the same number of points as Charles and in Abu Dhabi the team will do everything it can to give Sergio second place in the individual standings.
Max will fully support our endeavor. The riders discussed what had happened and shook hands. Now we are fully focused on the next race. Sergio gets into a fight with Charles and if Max can help in any way he will.
Source: F1 News
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