"Absolutely monster mentality": Fans react to F1 pundit's claim of what Max Verstappen told his father after losing to Sergio Perez in Baku

F1 pundit Karun Chandhok recently shared that Red Bull star Max Verstappen's father told him how angry his son was after being beaten by Sergio Perez at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP in April.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Chandhok said that he talked to Jos Verstappen in Qatar after his son secured his third world title. Jos revealed that when Max Verstappen lost to Checo in the Azerbaijan GP, he returned home and furiously swore to never get beaten by his Red Bull teammate again in 2023.

Chandhok said:

"I saw Max's dad, Jos Verstappen in Qatar on the evening after Max had cleared the championship. And we were chatting about the season. Then he said to me, 'Max was furious after Baku'. And when he [Max] came home, he said to his dad, 'I am not going to get beaten by him ever again this season.'

"He was absolutely livid and said he will no be beaten again. And lo and behold, he was right, and it was pretty devastating!"

After this information from the F1 pundit came to light, many on social media reacted to it. Since Max Verstappen was thoroughly dominant in 2023, many praised the Dutchman for his strong mentality and delivering on his promise of not getting beaten by his teammate after Baku.

Others posted memes about how the Red Bull star started racing seriously after Baku and never gave anyone a chance to win.

Here are some of the reactions:

"Absolutely monster mentality."

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Former Red Bull driver on how Sergio Perez was mentally beaten by Max Verstappen after Baku

Former Red Bull driver Christian Klien recently explained how F1 is a mental game. Klien feels that Checo must have been confident about beating his teammate after his win in Baku. However, in the Miami GP, the reigning world champion showed his prowess, which mentally affected the Mexican quite a lot, the Austrian pointed out.

Speaking with RacingNews365, former F1 driver said:

"Every high level of sport is a mental game as well. I would say Max is one with the car and with the team. That was the difference to Checo. He had a very good start to the season and maybe he had in his mind, ‘OK, maybe this year I can beat Max or at least on the same level’."

"But I think Miami was already the turning point where he realized, ‘OK the guy on the other side of the garage is unbeatable’. I think mentally that broke him a little bit. It took him a long time, maybe until the last couple of races where he got back [on track]. He's not a bad driver and you cannot unlearn how to drive a car fast. But in the end, it’s a mental game," he added.

Max Verstappen ended the 2023 F1 season with 575 points, while Sergio Perez only scored 285 points.