Max Verstappen: “I didn’t quite understand the five-second penalty”

After a disappointing weekend in São Paulo, the two Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers caused a stir in the garage after the Brazilian Grand Prix, a race the entire team would rather forget, not just down to Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez falling short of expectations, after only managing to achieve a sixth and seventh position in the race but down to the tension between the two drivers caused after Verstappen was asked to let his team-mate pass.

Verstappen reported to struggling with the pace in his RB18, which was a constant issue for the Dutchman throughout the weekend after Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team driver George Russell claimed first in Saturday’s sprint race. During the race, Verstappen lacked grip in the car and struggled to avoid sliding around the track which harmed his opportunities to overtake. The poor tyre degradation didn’t contribute to his success either, resulting in fewer pit stops than originally planned.

“We had no pace again today, similar to yesterday – we were sliding too much and we had bad degradation so it was hard to attack. I didn’t quite understand the five-second penalty for the incident with Lewis, but it didn’t affect the race too much as we already lacked pace.”

The race had barely started when 2021 title rivals Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton made contact at the apex of turn two, causing damage to Verstappen’s front wing in the process. The decision made by the FIA stewards concluded Verstappen was to blame for the incident, although the current Champion disagreed and claimed he “didn’t quite understand the five-second penalty” that was later served during the next pit stop.

Narrowly escaping a retirement from the race wasn’t all that occurred for the Red Bull team, when after team orders were requested to Verstappen tp allow his team-mate through, Verstappen refused his team-mate the sixth position which undoubtedly caused some controversy between the two.

Verstappen claims that the team discussed the matter and is now focusing on securing the first and second positions in the Drivers’ Championship, which comes to a close in Abu Dhabi.

“We’ve discussed internally as a Team the matter between Checo and myself and have moved on as a Team. If he needs help and there is a chance to help him in Abu Dhabi, then I will be there, and I will of course support him. We’re fighting for first and second in the Drivers’ Championship, so we’ll work hard to achieve that.”

Sergio Pérez: “We were definitely down on pace this weekend”

Like his team-mate, Pérez was lacking pace on both medium and soft tyres during Sunday’s race, although he seemed to be putting up a better fight than Verstappen and believes that had it not been for the safety car, he could’ve finished on the podium at Interlagos.

“I am a bit surprised by our performance today. We were very slow on the medium tyre and also on the soft. I was competitive, but as soon as we switched, I couldn’t defend. I lost more positions due to the safety car and without that I think I could have finished third or fourth. We were definitely down on pace this weekend so I really hope we can go back to our usual form next weekend in Abu Dhabi.“

Throughout the 2022 season, Red Bull has been the most competitive team with, arguably, the best car they’ve ever had, and so it was surprising that the team struggled on pace, which previously has been the RB18’s most notable strength. With the season approaching its end at the Yas Marina Circuit, Pérez hopes that the Brazilian Grand Prix was a blip in the team’s success and that the coming race has more fortune for the team.

The incident with Verstappen in the last few laps of the race was unexpected, especially after the support Pérez has continued to show his team-mate, defending against other teams when necessary which, in some cases had secured Verstappen race wins, and even Championship titles. When asked about the incident, Pérez assured that the team dealt with it internally and will revert back to working as a team going into the final race of the season.

“I am obviously disappointed with what happened today between Max and myself. It is something we have discussed internally, we will move on and keep working together as a Team. I am sure if I need support in Abu Dhabi, it will be different, and going forward we will always put the Team first.”

Credit: Peter Fox/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool