F1 journalist Leo Turrini has compared Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s relationship to that of Lionel Messi and a former teammate.
Messi is quoted as saying he “wanted to kill” Leandro Parades, the player that Turrini compares Perez with.
Parades and Messi both play for the Argentina national team but have had angry encounters in other leagues.
Most notable was an incident during PSG’s dominant 4-1 win against Juventus in the Champions League, in 2021.
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Parades explained at the time: “He got angry because I had made a comment to my teammates and he heard me, and he got angry.
“He became really angry. He f***ed me up. It was bad. He wanted to kill me and I wanted to go home.”
Parades and Messi were able to patch their relationship up afterwards.
In a similar vein, there have been heated tensions between Verstappen and his teammate on several occasions.
The duo were at the centre of a controversial storm at the Brazilian GP in 2022.
Verstappen refused to give a position to ‘Checo’ and aid in his fight to secure P2 in the Driver’s Championship.
Perez finished the season three points behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
This incident created conspiracy theories around Perez’s crash at the Monaco GP qualifying this season.
Some say it was intentional and the Mexican was trying to prevent his Dutch teammate from securing pole position.
Checo poured fuel on the fire after this race, saying of Verstappen: “He shows who he really is.”
Unfortunately for the Mexican driver, the Monaco GP crash marked the beginning of a torrid bout of form.
He failed to qualify in the top ten for the five consecutive races following the Monaco GP.
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Perez now sits 125 points adrift of Verstappen in the Driver’s Standings – before the season resumes at the end of this month.
This insurmountable points difference has put Perez’s standing at Red Bull in turmoil, with rumours about his replacement circulating.
The Mexican must now focus on battling to retain his P2 position in the Driver’s Standings for the remainder of the season.