Former Red Bull prodigy reacts as Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen calls Sergio Perez's father "an idiot"

Former Red Bull Racing junior Antonio Felix da Costa has reacted with laughing emojis to Max Verstappen's father, Jos, calling Sergio Perez's father "an idiot" on X. The former F1 driver replied to a quote from Antonio Perez in which he claimed that his son was not given a level playing field during his time at Red Bull.

Sergio Perez's father, Antonio, gave an interview to Soymotor in which he talked about his son's move to the Cadillac F1 team, where he will begin work from 2026 onwards. During this interview, Antonio also claimed that Sergio would have been an F1 world champion already if Red Bull had given him the same car as Max Verstappen during their time as teammates from 2021 to 2024.

"Checo has made Verstappen champion. If Checo had the same car, he would now be the world champion,” said Antonio Perez.

Formule1.nl shared this quote on X, which garnered a reaction from Max Verstappen's father, Jos, who called Antonio "an idiot".

"What an idiot this guy is. He’s [Perez] always been given the same material. But just needs to step on the gas," wrote Jos. [translated from Dutch]

Red Bull Racing's former prodigy, Antonio Felix da Costa, reacted to this post by Jos Verstappen, seemingly laughing in agreement with the 53-year-old's comments.

During his time at Red Bull, Sergio Perez managed to win five races and achieved a total of 29 podium finishes. His best came during the 2023 season when he finished runner-up to Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings, albeit by a 290-point margin.

Sergio's time came to an end after the 2024 season, during which he failed to claim even a single race win and finished eighth in the championship while his teammate won the drivers' title.

Max Verstappen shares advice for Lando Norris amid title battle with Oscar Piastri

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen is all but out of the 2025 drivers' title battle; however, he had a piece of advice for his friend Lando Norris in the fight against his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. The Dutchman has urged Norris to "keep trying" to claim race wins even after his DNF at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Speaking about the incident at Zandvoort, Verstappen said that Norris should just keep working hard and not focus on it too much, as it was out of his control.

"I mean, it’s out of your control. So, you just need to keep working hard, keep trying to win," said Verstappen, via Formula1.com.

"As simple as that. Especially when you are team mates, you have the same car, same opportunities. It’s probably a little bit more complicated than when it’s two different teams, but still a lot of races and you can see things can swing," he added.

Norris had to retire from second place at the Dutch GP due to a mechanical failure on his McLaren. The Briton lost out on 18 points with this retirement, meaning his deficit to Piastri is now 34 points heading into the Italian GP.

About the author

Samyak Sharma is a Motorsports journalist at Sportskeeda, covering Formula One and IndyCar. A graduate in Mass Media and Journalism, he aims to transform his lifelong passion for playing and following sports into a thriving career in sports journalism. He believes that sports naturally deliver the most compelling stories, needing no script to captivate the world.

Samyak is dedicated to providing detailed and insightful coverage, keeping an eye on all developments on and off the track to ensure timely and accurate reporting. He closely follows Max Verstappen, inspired by the Dutchman's ability to balance precision and aggression on the track.

Samyak envisions the continued growth of motorsports globally and hopes to see Formula One return to the V8 engines while still continuing to be sustainable. As for IndyCar, he envisions greater international exposure to rival the global reach of F1.

Outside the world of motorsports, Samyak immerses himself in his love for football and cricket, passionately cheering for his favorite team, Manchester United. He also enjoys catching the occasional tennis match, broadening his appreciation for sports.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam