Sergio Perez demands Red Bull explanation after Max Verstappen incident

Sergio Perez had the fastest lap of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix taken away from him on the final lap of the race.

Red Bull cruised the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to pick up their second one-two finish in as many races.

Sergio Perez sped away from pole after a short battle with Fernando Alonso, while Max Verstappen recovered from his P15 start to finish second.

The title battle this season seems to be between the two Red Bull drivers and with that in mind, they will both be looking to secure as many points as possible every race weekend.

Towards the end of the race in Jeddah, both drivers were told to target a slower lap time to manage issues with their cars and with Perez holding the fastest lap of the race, he seemed certain to secure the extra championship point.

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Verstappen asked his team over the radio what the fastest lap so far was and despite being told not to worry about it, the Dutchman blitzed the final lap of the race to snatch the extra point away from his teammate.

Perez was understandably annoyed about losing the extra point and has now told Mexican news outlet El Capitalino that he will be looking to hold discussions with Red Bull about the incident.

“They told me that the fastest lap belonged to me and to keep up the pace, then I found out that Max took it away from us. We will have to discuss that with the team to clarify things,” he said.

Overall, Perez was over the moon to pick up the fifth win of his career, with the 33-year-old especially glad that the safety car did not ruin the second race in a row in Jeddah for him.

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“It was a little harder than I expected, the safety car tried to get the victory in Jeddah, but the team did a great job and they worked to hard on the weekend,” he said.

Perez will travel to Australia in two weeks’ time only a point behind Verstappen, meaning that a title race between the two may well happen.

With no other cars in sight, Perez will not be asked to play the wingman role this season, giving him a genuine chance at winning the first championship of his career.