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Two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen claims to have understood why Max Verstappen did not let Sergio Perez through during the 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix. The Finn believes events in the past stopped Verstappen from returning track position to Perez.
Hakkinen gave a probable reference to this when he stated that Verstappen does not live in the moment and remembers the past, and thus did not leave space for his teammate as a 'payback.' The Race quoted him as saying:
“He’s living in a life where he remembers yesterday and he’s focusing on the future.”
“And when there’s a situation in the race track and the team gives him an order to give a chance to Perez to score points, he keeps the positions (as) he remembers that yesterday and Max (told the) team and was like no way, it’s payback time.”
Controversies arose after the incident at the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP when Max Verstappen refused to give Sergio Perez his position, which would have been crucial in the latter's battle with Charles Leclerc for P2 in the drivers' standings. Many were shocked at the events, with reference drawn to a past incident in Monaco that left Verstappen unhappy.
Mika Hakkinen contrasts his team's orders with Max Verstappen's
In the same conversation, Mika Hakkinen remembered the team orders he and his team had to follow back when he was racing. He stated that whenever there was the possibility of a situation arising in which team orders would need to be followed, he and his teammate would discuss it beforehand and do what the team asked.
Hakkinen said:
“When I received team orders before the grand prix even happened, we had a plan to do it in a certain way and for the (different) circumstances.”
“We shook hands and decided if this situation happens in the race we will follow the team orders.”
With Max Verstappen disobeying team orders, fans have been left enraged, shining a new spotlight on the incident in Monaco nearly six months later.
The 'event' at 2022 F1 Monaco GP
During the final moments of the qualifying session at Monaco, Sergio Perez spun and crashed at the exit of Turn 8, bringing out the red flag and the session to an end. This prevented many drivers from improving their lap times, including his teammate Max Verstappen. At the time, it was considered just another racing incident, but now, many believe that Perez crashed on purpose.
The crash ensured that Sergio Perez started in P3, enough for him to stay ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen, who started P4, considering the difficulty of overtaking on the track. Fans also point to the confusing data shown by telemetry emerging from the Mexican's car. In previous laps, Perez had a very controlled throttle application out of that turn. During that very lap, however, his throttle spiked right before he crashed, which caused him to lose traction and crash.
For a consistent driver like Perez, it is difficult to understand why he would make such a mistake, and hence, many consider that he did this on purpose. Nothing concrete, however, can be said as of now. The FIA has said that it is open to investigating the incident, but nothing has been pursued further.
