The fast lap ‘stolen’ from Perez
The signature on ride faster of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is creating a tense atmosphere at home Red Bull between the two drivers, protagonists of a long-distance fight in the final race ended in a controversial way: Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, both informed by the team not to push excessively, responded differently to the team’s requests. While the Mexican complied with the invitation from the pit wall, the Dutch recorded the best time of the GP right on the last lap. This result allowed the reigning two-times world champion to gain that extra point, enough to take the leadership of the championship.
The renunciation of the attempt
Already after the podium ceremony, Perez did not hide all his disappointment for the incident, even if the Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, provided a different version of events from the one indicated by the Mexican. In a meeting with the media, the British manager indeed revealed that the number 11 was also battling for the fastest lap on the last lap, with the latter then lifting his foot, effectively giving up defending his best time: “We understood that the riders would try again to improve the time on the last lap – he has declared – both pilots had received necessary information in case they still wanted to try. Checo had the fastest lap at the time, and it was obvious for him to ask which one was him. He knew Max would give it a go, but gave up after the first two corners. He was already a tenth and a half away from himself, and then he gave up ”.
The only request of the team
As a result, Perez was not denied managing the pace in the final stages of the race, which instead happened at a precise moment in the GP, and for both riders. Specifically, again according to Horner, this request came following Verstappen’s complaints about some vibrations warned by the Dutch. An aspect that immediately made the team suspicious of a possible problem with the axle shaft, the same one that had forced the number 1 to retire from qualifying: “At that point we thought: ‘Ok, let’s lower the pace of both cars’ – confirmed the Red Bull team principal – but as soon as it was clear that we couldn’t see anything in the data, we let the riders free to push again.”
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