Max Verstappen opens up on his relationship with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez's relationship as Red Bull Racing teammates came under scrutiny in 2022.

At the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate round of the season, Perez waved Verstappen through in the hope that the Dutchman could potentially take points off Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who Perez was fighting for P2 in the Drivers' Championship.

With Verstappen unable to get past Fernando Alonso to have a go at Leclerc, the team ordered him to give the place back to Perez, an order the 25-year-old ignored. A slew of radio messages between the team and the two drivers were broadcast to the world, which gave birth to talk of a strained relationship between Verstappen and Perez.

Verstappen, however, spoke warmly of Perez in an interview with the Daily Mail. Shedding light on his relationship with the Mexican, he said:

"I have got to know Checo (Sergio Perez) a lot better in the last few years. He drove brilliantly for the team when I won my first world title in Abu Dhabi. He was superb that day. We were rivals before, especially when I started out at Toro Rosso, and then I got to know him in a bit more personal way. What I like is that he is a family man and really cares for his friends."

He added:

"F1 is very important and you want to have a lot of success but it is not the end of the world if you don’t succeed. I think the same way. We have all won races — and he is the most successful Mexican — but it is not everything because most of your life goes on after you have stopped."

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Max Verstappen on George Russell: "He has the potential to be a world champion"

In the same interview, the Red Bull driver spoke highly of rival and Mercedes driver George Russell. Praising the Brit, the Dutchman confidently stated that Russell has the potential to be the Formula 1 world champion in the future. He said:

"George (Russell) is part of the generation with Lando and Charles and me that grew up together. I raced against George a bit in karting, though he’s a year younger. You could see straight away he was good. It came naturally to him — he didn’t need a lot of laps to be quick. He could jump straight in and battle at the front."

He added:

"He has the potential to be a world champion. I haven’t spent too much time with him but he is a good lad. He has just moved to Monaco, so I may see more of him from now on."