During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull’s objective was to secure second place in the drivers’ standings for Sergio Pérez. In the end, it was Charles Leclerc who finished the season as runner-up. While the Dutch driver could have blocked the Monegasque to get Pérez a little closer to Leclerc, he admits he would not have accepted this instruction and he didn’t think it was ‘sporting’, a rather Peculiar admission by Verstappen
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was full of high stakes for the competitors near the top of the drivers’ standings. With the runner-up spot between Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc up for grabs, Max Verstappen made a rather strange revelation about possible Red Bull instructions.
“No, there were no instructions”
In comments reported by MotorSport, Max Verstappen admitted that there were no specific instructions to give Sergio Perez a better chance of overtaking Charles Leclerc. In particular, he said that he did not want to block the Monegasque.
“No, there were no instructions, but it would have been a difficult decision to make. And then you don’t want… it’s possible to block, but is that a fair way to run? I don’t think it would have been the best way to end our season…
“Checo seemed to be catching up enough to attempt a pass, I was following that on the screens, but he lost quite a bit of time behind Pierre (Gasly) and Alex (Albon).”
“Looking back, we could have attacked more”
Max Verstappen admits that they could have attacked Charles Leclerc more. In particular, he said that Red Bull wanted to save tyres.
“In hindsight, we could have attacked more in the second stint, but the team saw the high degradation of the medium tyres. But it’s always easier to say that afterwards. We thought at the time that we had to save the tyres. We had some great weekends but there is always something to learn.”
Re Checo: Today you can say it’s pointless to have helped Perez back in Brazil. But it does not deter the fact that Max was extremely selfish, not to use basic common sense! You don’t need the team to ask. This would’ve been a shinning moment for Max to help his teammate. But instead it was a glaring moment. Only time will tell if a lesson has been learned.
I remember perez blocking Hamilton last year Abu Dhabi to help max
And max calling him a legend and he thinks it’s not sporting to block someone
Perez actions in Abu Dhabi didn’t affect the result. Plus a driver should block another regardless if they’re racing for position. It’s called racing as Massi said
I have gone off Verstappen. I think he has shown his true colours and thrown Perez under a bus. My support will entirely focus on Russell in 2023
Good job you didn’t watch the Michael
Schumacher/Ferrari era 😆