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The events of the 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend saw Max Verstappen refuse to give Sergio Perez his position despite team orders. Consequently, speculation surrounding the possibility of a qualifying incident from Monaco playing a role in the Dutchman's decision has risen.
Perez, however, stood by the fact that he made a mistake at the end of Q3 in Monaco. The mistake, and the subsequent crash, essentially handed him the pole position, denying his teammate the chance to set the fastest time.
When asked about Red Bull's official statement regarding the matter and the specific incident in Monaco, the Mexican claimed that the matter was settled. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, at a press conference ahead of this weekend's F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Sergio Perez said:
“I’m cool with that, we have discussed everything internally, you know, there’s been a lot of speculation going on on social media, a lot of hate. That is not nice to see, and we’re just ready to move on as a team. What happened there, we discussed it and we are ready to move on as a team. Yeah, there’s nothing new that I need to comment on that regard. I just want to move on. I mean, it’s quite clear what happened, you know, I just had a bad lap and chasing the lap time in Monaco, everyone can make mistakes and not only Monaco, in any other track so nothing really more to add.”
Rumors suggest that the double world champion possibly believes that Sergio Perez deliberately crashed his car at the end of qualifying to secure pole position. Consequently, he refused to give up a position to help his teammate last weekend.
In an official statement, Red Bull accepted the mistakes made by the team and explained what went on behind the scenes. As reported by F1.com, the statement read:
“As a team we made some mistakes in Brazil. We had not envisaged the situation that unfolded on the last lap and we had not agreed a strategy for such a scenario before the race. Regretfully, Max was only informed at the final corner of the request to give up position without all the necessary information being relayed. This put Max, who has always been an open and fair team player, in a compromising situation with little time to react which was not our intention. Following the race Max spoke openly and honestly, allowing for both drivers to resolve any outstanding issues or concerns. The team accept Max’s reasoning, the conversation was a personal matter which will remain private between the team and no further comment will be made.”
Sergio Perez reveals his main "target" going into the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Sergio Perez revealed that his focus for the upcoming race at the Yas Marina Circuit is to finish the GP, and subsequently the season, in second, ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Speaking about his main goal for the weekend, Perez said:
“I’m just really concerned about Charles, to be honest. That’s my target, I really want to finish ahead of him, you know, because that will mean a little bit more in my championship. So that’s my main focus.”
Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez are currently equal in the championship with 290 points each.
