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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen reiterated that he and his ex-teammate Sergio Perez have a "great relationship" despite the latter's comments regarding their 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix dust-up. The duo were teammates on the Austrian team from 2021 to 2024 before Perez was dropped at the end of last year in favor of Liam Lawson.
The Mexican driver had made a good start to his Red Bull career and had helped Verstappen win the title in 2021. In the first half of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the 35-year-old was even competitive against the Dutchman and even pushed him for race wins.
Despite their largely positive working dynamic, the pair had a few confrontations along the way, including the controversial team orders call in Brazil. The six-time F1 race winner recently claimed that Max Verstappen would keep his cards close to his chest and reveal them on the track.
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When he was asked about the same in the pre-race press conference in Austria, Verstappen was slightly irked when he was asked if he was disappointed by Perez's comments and reflected, via Formula1:
"No. But I think also how you now worded it is not how he meant it. I have a great relationship with Checo. We’ve always been great teammates. I have a lot of respect for him, and he has a lot of respect for me. That’s it from my side. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing him again soon in the paddock.
"I still need to give him a helmet of mine – I promised him that, because he gave me one of his with a very nice message on it. I promised him, yeah, hopefully around Mexico, that I can give him mine. So, for me, whatever is written in the media, I know how Checo is, and we have a great relationship."
Max Verstappen dominated Sergio Perez in the same team during their time as teammates and was hardly ever outperformed by the latter.
Sergio Perez reflects on his close calls with Max Verstappen
Former F1 driver Sergio Perez believed that Max Verstappen had some issue with him during the Monaco GP qualifying in 2022, which later affected the team orders call in Brazil.
Speaking with the Desde el Paddock podcast, the Mexican said:
“That’s something I’m saving for my book - I’ll give you the full story there. Max had an issue with what happened in Monaco. He never told me directly; he kept it to himself and brought it up six or eight months later. But Max is like that. He holds things in until he finally lets them out, usually on the track.”
Max Verstappen had been upset after Sergio Perez's crash in Monaco in 2022 gave the latter a better starting position for the main race.
