Revealed: Verstappen “has not forgotten” Perez’s “deliberate crash”
Verstappen refused Red Bull’s request to allow Perez to pass him in the closing stages at Interlagos to claim sixth place, in a bid for the Mexican to claim second-place in the F1 standings.
His blunt and shocking action to block Red Bull’s plan was payback for Perez costing him the chance to win the F1 Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year, De Telegraaf in Holland report.
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Perez crashed in qualifying causing a red flag, costing Verstappen a chance at pole position. Perez then won the race.
But, according to the report, Perez later confessed to team principal Christian Horner and consultant Helmut Marko that he crashed on purpose to cause a red flag.
Verstappen “had not forgotten”, the report states.
Verstappen said "yes" to Sky Germany when asked if a particular incident had caused him to refuse Red Bull's orders. The reigning champion confirmed he would help Perez next week in Abu Dhabi, if needed.
Fiery Red Bull meeting after Verstappen-Perez problem
Red Bull could be seen in a heated debrief post-race in Brazil.
“We discuss these things internally,” Horner told Sky. “The drivers have spoken about it. They are very clear.
“I won’t go into what we discussed behind closed doors. The drivers have shaken hands.
“We work as a team, we race as a team. Our priority is to get Checo to be runner-up in the championship. Max has given us that commitment. If Max can help, he will do.
“We go into Abu Dhabi to do the best we can as a team for Checo to get second place.”
Perez is tied with Charles Leclerc on 290 points with one race left.
