Tempers flared in Brazil when Max Verstappen explosively refused to follow team orders, much to the hinderance of his teammate’s hopes of finishing second in the standings.
Sergio Perez needed every point available to him in his battle with Charles Leclerc for P2 in the drivers’ championship, however Verstappen clearly has some sort of grudge against the Mexican to refuse to let him pass in what was a meaningless race for the Dutchman.
Rumours have circulated that Verstappen’s annoyance with his teammate dates back to the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year, where a red flag in qualifying caused by Perez saw the Mexican secure pole position and refuse Verstappen the opportunity to improve on his P4 start.
Onboard footage shows the 32-year-old stab the throttle and spin the car, which is an odd thing to do at that particular corner, before making no effort to correct himself and collecting Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari who was on a fast lap behind him.
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While nothing is conclusive about the footage, it has sparked debate in the paddock about what should happen to drivers who intentionally cause yellow or red flags in qualifying that hinder other drivers, and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes he has the answer.
“I think it should be red flags or yellow flags, for effectively impeding a driver from completing their lap,” suggested the McLaren boss.
“They do that in other forms of motorsports, the penalties, you just lose your fastest lap from that session, and all the drivers tend to do one lap runs so that would penalise the driver if it was intentional or unintentional. Because you’ve messed up someone else’s lap.
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“I think that’s an easy solution, it can be implemented right away. You cause a driver to have to back out, you lose your lap, you get to go again and maybe you won’t have a chance. Maybe you will or you have to use another set of tyres. I think that’s the easiest way to solve it.”
Most drivers who were asked for their opinion on the red flag caused by Perez refused to comment, other than Carlos Sainz who claims that every driver can tell if an incident was intentional or not, and although he will not reveal Perez’s intentions, he does agree that action needs to be taken against such incidents.
Perez went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position, while Verstappen managed to recover a podium, and this could have had a significant impact on the title race had Ferrari managed to avoid the tactical blunders that cost both Sainz and his teammate Charles Leclerc so dearly that weekend.