Sergio Perez has declared his intentions to fight Max Verstappen for the 2023 F1 title – temporarily at least.
After being beaten to the chequered flag by the Dutchman in the season opener in Bahrain, the positions were reversed in Saudi on Sunday, with the Mexican notching his fifth Grand Prix win. The reigning world champion started from 15th on the grid after enduring engine problems in qualifying, and despite storming up to second and notching the fastest lap prize, was unable to catch Perez.
But no sooner had the two made their way back to the Red Bull garage that tensions were becoming apparent. As Perez was mobbed by engineers and team members, Verstappen’s dad Jos was caught up in the middle of the chaos, and made no secret of his frustration at his son being beaten.
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Given the current pace of Red Bull, it is almost inconceivable that anyone other than Perez can seriously threaten Max Verstappen’s crown. And sure enough, the 33-year-old took to Twitter afterwards to state his intent to challenge for a maiden title.
“It was tougher than I thought, but in the end I’m happy to get my fifth victory in F1,” he wrote. “Very happy with the result of the team. We are going to keep pushing very hard. I want to be champion.”
However, the bold words didn’t remain on his account for long. The post was deleted and repeated with nigh on the same message, but with the words ‘I want to be champion’ notably ommitted.
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(Image: Getty Images)
In the aftermath of the race in Jeddah, Verstappen had appeared anything but pleased for his partner, instead opting to lament his car issues: “Now again, after three positive practice sessions, I have an issue in qualifying,” he ranted. “Of course, I recovered to second which is good. In general the whole feeling in the team, everyone is happy – but personally I’m not happy because I’m not here to be second.”
The 25-year-old cruised to the title by some 146 points in 2022, but the end of his campaign was tainted by a spat with Perez. At the penultimate race of the campaign in Brazil, he defied team orders and refused to give up a place to Perez, hindering his chances of finishing above eventual runner-up Charles Leclerc in the Championship.
It prompted an angry reaction from Perez, who over radio told team members: “This shows who he really is.” The saga was made all the more questionable by the fact Perez regularly followed team orders in order to help Verstappen win his first world title in 2022.
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