-“Checo” is a legend.
Thus Max Verstappen admired a year ago when a team mate Sergio Perez slowed the Mercedes Lewis Hamilton with their skillful moves in the last competition.
Verstappen drove in the race, helped by Perez, and eventually became the world champion.
On Sunday, in the Brazilian competition, respect was in the way. Verstappen already had the second world championship in his pocket, but did not let the Mexican back to sixth at the end.
Perez and Red Bull had let the Dutchman in front so he could try to overtake About Fernando Alonso and About Charles Leclerc.
– What happened? the race engineer asked Verstappen after the race on the team radio.
– I already told you last time. You don’t ask me that, okay? Is it clear? I gave my reasons then, and I stand by them, Verstappen said.
– Thanks for this. He showed who he really is, while Perez rocked his team radio.
The points would have been important for the Mexican in terms of second place in the drivers’ World Cup battle. Now Perez goes into the last race tied on points by Charles Leclerc with.
– This says a lot about Verstappen, but this was also quite an embarrassing situation for the team when the driver did not follow the order. It was also out of style for Verstappen to handle the matter publicly in a radio interview, Urheilu’s expert Jukka Mildh comment.
According to the expert, the behavior of the highly popular Verstappen also left a stain on his image. In the future, the Dutchman will be even more unpredictable.
– What kind of means does he want to use to succeed in this sport? He has been given the status of a leading F1 driver, and he clearly intends to hold on to it at all costs.
According to the Dutch media, the background of Verstappen’s behavior is the events of the Monaco GP. Then Perez crashed out in the last section of qualifying, and Verstappen couldn’t drive the last fast lap.
Dutch F1 expert by Tom Coronel according to Perez would have admitted to his team that he did it on purpose to ensure a good starting position for the race.
Mildh considers Verstappen’s revenge and blame as childish.
– A bit childish, especially at this point, when all the championships have been secured and a teammate could come second in the series, says Mildh.
According to Mildh, many drivers have used tactics in a similar way in Monaco, because the narrow street track makes this possible.
– I claim that Verstappen would also have certainly considered such a gimmick if he had been in that situation himself.
Mildh believes that Perez’s trust in his team-mate crumbled once and for all in Brazil. He also reminds that a team mate is always the worst enemy in the F1 world.
– This definitively broke the trust between Perez and Verstappen about working together. It’s quite a job at the garage to weld it together.
Lewis Hamilton is known as a difficult teammate at Mercedes, but according to Mildh, Verstappen can be considered to have taken the game to a new level. According to him, Verstappen’s obstinacy and pointing out the place of the locker to the team publicly on the radio was embarrassing for the team as well.
Mildh thinks that Verstappen’s father If has also influenced Max’s character with his personality.
– Verstappen’s father is well known as a tough-minded hothead. Going on Max’s rounds and having a strong sense of self-worth also comes from the growth environment. As I understand it, harsh measures and insolence were also used to get the Red Bull contract at one time, Mildh reminds.
In the F1 series, the second driver often has to do many things in front of the first driver. One of the most significant is changing the driving style, as the car is being developed on the terms of the number one driver, in this case Verstappen.
It took some time for Perez, who moved to Red Bull for the 2021 season, to be able to better help the Dutchman in the races. Now he shows himself as a hard-to-pass and reliable driver.
– He has always had to follow instructions. For example, he could have been taken to the pit earlier in the race to know how a certain tire compound works, Mildh explains.
According to Mildh, mirroring this, the top drivers also usually have to show some kind of appreciation and gratitude to their teammates.
– Now Verstappen didn’t show it in any way, Mildh shakes.
According to Mildh, there are certainly many similar cases in history, but these radio conversations have not been made public.
– Over the years, they have even been censored and what has been presented has been very carefully selected. They have not always been made public.
– I would think that, for example Michael Schumacher during Rubens Barrichello and his other teammates have had to deal with these issues. They have had to give Schum, but he nothing for them. On the other hand, the number one driver has also always had to have some kind of sense of style.
The race in Brazil ended with Mercedes’ first win of the season. The first place was also To George Russell the first of his career when he washed his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Alfa Romeo Valtteri Bottas was ninth in the race. The Finn even drove from fifth and sixth place, but McLaren by Lando Norris the interruption and the subsequent safety car rained down on the rivals.
Listen to how Jukka Mildh comments on the performance of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes’ driver duo.