Verstappen: Not my job to help Perez

Max Verstappen hopes Red Bull can avoid another team orders debacle at this year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, saying it is not his responsibility to help teammate Sergio Pérez score points.

Twelve months ago at Interlagos, Verstappen refused to let Perez overtake him in order to aid the Mexican’s chances of securing second in the championship.

As is the case this year, the Dutch driver had already secured the title by the time F1 visited Brazil and in the final laps of the race he was running ahead of Perez in sixth place.

Red Bull requested Verstappen give the position to Perez to offer him an extra two points, but Verstappen made no attempt to let his teammate overtake.

After the finish, Verstappen said over team radio: “I told you already last time. Don’t ask that again to me — are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it.”

Perez added: “It shows who he really is.”

Asked on Thursday in Sao Paulo if he would obey team orders if they were used again this year, Verstappen said: “Good question. I think at the end of the day it shouldn’t always matter on me, you know, to get the points.

“I’m confident in Checo that he can stay ahead because I do think on average we have the faster car and I think also last year it wasn’t well spoken a about before we got into the race weekend.

“But let’s just hope we don’t get into that situation, I think it’s better for everyone.”

Red Bull tried to play down the spat after the 2022 race, saying team orders had not been properly discussed before the race, but Dutch media reported that there was a much deeper rivalry between the two teammates.

According to journalists well connected to Verstappen’s camp, the Dutch driver was said to believe that Perez intentionally crashed at the end of qualifying at that year’s Monaco Grand Prix in order to line up ahead of him for the race that followed. Perez went on to win in Monaco, while Verstappen finished third.

Any rivalry between the two drivers has been less prevalent this year, with Verstappen dominating his teammate with a tally of 491 points to 240.

However, Perez’s retirement from last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix means that his second place in the championship is again under threat, this time from Lewis Hamilton who is 20 points behind.

Despite rumours about Perez’s future dominating F1 social media this week, Red Bull has made clear that it intends to honour his contract for 2024 and said that his future is not linked to securing a second-place finish in the championship.

Speaking during Thursday’s press conference for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo, who has been tipped as the most likely replacement for Perez, denied any talks had taken place with Red Bull about promotion from AlphaTauri.