Sergio Perez needs every point possible to ensure he beats Charles Leclerc to second place in the driver’s championship, but it appears his teammate of all people is unwilling to play his part.
Max Verstappen passed the Mexican in the latter stages of the Brazilian Grand Prix to take sixth place, and despite having nothing to fight for unlike his teammate, he refused to let Perez back through on the final lap when asked to by his team.
“I told you already last time, you guys don’t ask that again to me OK? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it,” said the 25-year-old in a very clear message to his team following the order from his race engineer to let his teammate pass.
It is rumoured that the reasons that Verstappen are referring to date back to Monaco this year, when provisional pole sitter Perez crashed his car just before the other drivers in Q3 could finish their final flying lap, causing a red flag and securing his pole position.
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Reports suggest that the Mexican admitted to internationally causing the red flag to ensure he started on pole, and he eventually went on to win the race, at a time where his teammate was still in close competition with Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen has been slated on social media for his refusal to help out his teammate, with the Mexican always having been on hand to help his teammate in the past.
“I’m a huge fan of Max Verstappen, but that’s a piece of s*** move to ignore team orders and not let Checo through for the points,” wrote one disgruntled Verstappen fan on Twitter.
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The two-time world champion wrapped up the world title in Suzuka and has since broken the record for the most wins in a season, previously held by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, which means that the position he finished about Perez means nothing to him from a racing perspective.
Christian Horner has confirmed that the team have sat down together after the race, with both drivers being given the opportunity to put across their point of view any bury any issues they may have with each other.
Verstappen has said that should Perez need his help in Abu Dhabi he will not hesitate to play the wingman role, which begs the question as to why he was so reluctant to play his part in the Mexican’s battle in Brazil.