The final stage of this 2022 season showcased a unexpected climate of tension inside the Red Bull box. The apex of this nervousness that concerned the two riders of the team that dominates the championship was seen in the San Paolo GP, during which Verstappen – with a title already largely acquired – refused to help Sergio Perez in the battle for second position of the drivers’ standings, which saw the Mexican involved in a point-to-point challenge with the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. To motivate his lack of collaborative spirit, Verstappen took refuge behind him “personal reasons”.
The Dutchman has never confirmed it explicitly, but by now everyone identifies the moment of origin of the frictions between the two with the accident that saw Perez protagonist in the Monaco GP qualifying of this year. The Mexican’s mistake was, according to Verstappen, intentional, and helped his boxmate to secure a better starting position. Checo then managed to surprise win that race on Sunday, with Verstappen who was third, thanks to Ferrari’s strategic suicide. Much has already been written and said about that apparently harmless incident on Saturday. However, not everyone agrees with the version of the voluntary crash.
According to the former Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosanow ambassador of the Aston Martin team, Perez didn’t voluntarily choose to crash to cause a red flag that would have kept his position ahead of Verstappen on the grid:”I think Checo didn’t do anything wrong in Monaco, he didn’t do anything on purpose. It is very difficult for a pilot to crash on purpose. Else is if you park your car. But the accident is not in the DNA of a pilot“. To avoid similar discussions in the future, however, De la Rosa is convinced, like many, that it is necessary to intervene on the regulation: “To avoid suspicions it is necessary to introduce a change to the regulation and penalize the drivers who cause red flags in qualifying – concluded the Iberian – or even the double yellow flags, which can ultimately be just as harmful. It has been seen that in other categories it works“.
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