Double World Champion Fernando Alonso has admitted that himself and Aston Martin are going to be paying “attention” to the current situation at Red Bull, after Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez disagreed ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Tensions are certainly starting to build at the Milton Keynes-based team, mostly due to the fact that as it stands Red Bull’s only competitor is themselves, or more precisely, their drivers.
Verstappen and Perez have already been tipped for an exciting title fight which is set to test Red Bull’s management skills, given that the duo have already disagreed.
Perez revealed on Thursday at the Albert Park Circuit that behind-the-scenes talks were had between the Mexican and Verstappen after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Checo claimed victory.
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Whilst he was pleased with the win, Perez was disappointed to see that Verstappen had claimed the fastest lap on the final lap after being told to stick to a set lap time.
He’s since revealed that it was due to “miscommunication” between himself and the team.
As well as that, the 33-year-old has shared that himself and the reigning World Champion have “a lot more respect for each other” than believed, perhaps to defuse suggestions that tensions are rising.
“I think it was a bit of a miscommunication between my engineer and myself,” Perez ahead of this weekend’s third round. “I don’t think there was anything more to it.
“I had a word with Christian after the race and it was all clear. It’s nothing big.
“To be honest, we’ve got a lot more respect for each other than people may think out there.”
Following Perez’s reason for not getting the fastest lap, Verstappen responded by admitting that there “was no miscommunication”, therefore rejecting his team-mate’s excuse.
“That was no miscommunication,” Verstappen responded.
“The same thing was also asked in Bahrain, but the other way around. In the end from our side there was no more talk about it or any additional explanation either.
“The positive thing is that our car is very competitive and that’s what is required to challenge for championships.”
Tensions building at Red Bull works perfectly in Alonso’s and Aston Martin’s favour, with the 41-year-old likely to be ready to pounce at any issue between the duo.
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Alonso knows that Red Bull are currently too strong for Aston Martin to compete with but that a “hot environment” at the Austrians could spice things up, especially if Perez and Verstappen “touch”.
“We know that the Red Bulls are too far ahead now,” Alonso told DAZN. “But hey, anything can happen.
“A reliability problem, a touch between them. We know there has been a lot of talk about them having a hot environment so we will pay attention,” he smiled.