Next week the Formula 1 season will come to an end in Abu Dhabi with Max Verstappen already securing his second consecutive win. However, the battle for second place in the drivers’ championship is particularly close, and tonight (Sunday) Charles Leclerc overtook Sergio Perez, leading him by only one point.
The story of the evening, beyond George Russell’s first victory, was what happened between the Dutch world champion and his teammate, Peres. Towards the end of the race Perez was in sixth place and Verstappen seventh, when the contact informed Perez that he would allow his Red Bull teammate to overtake him without interruption so that he would try to overtake Alonso Valkeller in fourth and fifth places. However, Peres was promised that if the Dutchman didn’t make it he would give him his place back towards the end.
In the end, the world champion was unable to advance and was instructed to allow his teammate to overtake him back, but he refused and finished the race in sixth place, leaving his friend in seventh place, during which he gained two points and actually allowed Leclerc to catch up with him for the final race.
Immediately after the race it became clear that at the end Peres said in a connection that what Verstappen did “shows who he really is”. In order to understand the relationship between the two, it is worth going back to last season – when Peres was responsible for a number of big actions that helped Verstappen win the dramatic championship against Lewis Hamilton, so he expected the Dutchman to help him in return, after he had already secured this year’s championship.
In an interview at the end Peres said: “I’m very surprised, I don’t know what happened there, especially after everything I did for him. I think he now has two championships thanks to me.”
Perez over the team radio after Verstappen didn’t let him past ???? pic.twitter.com/piL9ZI54HJ
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 13, 2022