Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen wasn’t in the mood to discuss team-mate Sergio Perez last weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, as the Dutchman was busy claiming yet another victory.
Verstappen’s win last Sunday marked his fourth consecutive victory and his sixth of 2023, with it having also put him level with three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna as a 41-time race winner.
Whilst he was busy leading the field from pole position, Perez was busy trying to break into the points, following another qualifying elimination.
Perez failed to progress to Q3 for the third consecutive Grand Prix, with him having been dumped out in Q2.
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He managed to recover to sixth during the race, whilst Verstappen was at the front securing Red Bull’s 100th win in Formula 1.
Verstappen did fire a small dig at his team-mate after the race, where he admitted that the Austrians would be feeling “very different” if he hadn’t won in Montreal.
“Well, if I wasn’t here today, obviously it would have been very different for team,” Verstappen said following his win, as reported by the Express.co.uk.
“That’s one way of looking at it.”
With Verstappen’s and Perez’s performances having been the complete opposite over the last three races, the Dutchman was asked what had caused it.
He ultimately brushed off the question and admitted that his team-mate’s current struggles aren’t “my problem”, with him noting that it’s down to Red Bull to sort.
“It’s not my problem,” Verstappen added. “It’s something they (the team) maybe have to work on.
“But you have to ask them. I was busy trying to get the car in better shape and at a time like this it’s definitely not something you think about. And even now it’s not. I’ll be back in a little while, have a Red Bull and have a meeting.
“Then I’ll go straight to the hotel and have a nice shower. And as far as I’m concerned, everything’s fine.”
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner did address Perez’s current downward spiral and admitted that he simply needs a “good weekend”, to hopefully help him discover some “confidence”.
“I think he just needs a good weekend to just lift his confidence,” Horner said.
“I think he’s had three difficult weekends, three difficult Saturdays, that then puts you on the backfoot on a Sunday. And we’ve seen what Checo is capable of, only a month or two ago. And I think he just needs to have a strong weekend to find that confidence. And then I’ve got no doubt he’ll be back.”