Red Bull drivers row as Max Verstappen refuses team order to let Sergio Perez pass in Sao Paulo GP

Sergio Perez told his team “this shows who he really is” after his hopes of finishing second in the drivers’ championship were hit by the actions of Max Verstappen; watch the final race of the 2022 F1 season live from Abu Dhabi next weekend with all sessions live on Sky Sports F1

Red Bull drivers exchanged furious team radio messages at the end of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after Max Verstappen refused a team instruction to let Sergio Perez pass him on the final lap.

The team were forced to hold clear talks immediately after Sunday’s race when Verstappen declared “I gave my reasons” for refusing to help his team-mate, prompting Perez to say “this shows who he really is”.

Perez struggled on medium tires after a late Safety Car at Interlagos and the team asked him to let Verstappen through on the condition that he would give the place back if he failed to overtake fifth-placed Fernando Alonso in the closing stages.

When asked to fulfill that agreement on the last lap, Verstappen did not respond and when prompted again told his team: “I already told you last summer. You don’t ask me about it again, ok? Are we clear on that? I gave my reasons and I stand by them.”

His refusal means Perez’s hopes of finishing second in the drivers’ championship were affected as he is now level with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – who finished fourth in Brazil – with just one race remaining.

Perez sarcastically thanked his team over his radio, prompting an apology from team principal Christian Horner and a promise of a post-race debriefing.

The Mexican replied, “Yes, this shows who he really is.”

Asked about the incident by Sky Sports F1 later, Perez first suggested there may have been a communication breakdown and he appeared surprised when Sky Sports F1 told him Verstappen actively refused to give the seat back.

“I have no idea [what his reasons are]”, Perez said. “Maybe you should ask him about that. I don’t really have anything to say.

“After all I’ve done for him, it’s a bit disappointing to be honest.

“I have no idea. I’m really surprised.”

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Verstappen says he had his reasons for not granting the seat back to his team-mate

Red Bull bosses then called both drivers in for talks and Verstappen appeared to insist he would help Perez beat Leclerc in next week’s final race in Abu Dhabi if needed.

But he refused to give his reasons for disobeying the team’s orders, although he insisted he had made his feelings clear to the team.

“We’ve put everything on the table,” he explained to Sky Sports F1.

“I gave my reasons. I’m not going to say why, but I think they understood – and I’ve explained it to them before so it’s not new to me and not new to them.

“But I think it’s more important as a team now that we stand together, all together and above all we move forward.

“We are going to Abu Dhabi. Of course we want to win the race, but if there is a chance to help Checo I will do it. That is why it was important that we had this meeting now.

“I understand why he’s disappointed, but they also need to understand why I did it and I gave them the reasons why.”

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Look back when Perez crashed during qualifying for this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, denying Verstappen the chance to record a faster time

Asked if the decision was related to an incident in Monaco earlier this year – when Perez was ahead of his team-mate in qualifying and crashed to trigger a red flag that denied Verstappen the chance to beat his time – the Dutchman declined to comment.

“You can decide that. I’m not going to say that,” he said.

“I gave my reasons why I didn’t and I think everyone understood. It was good that we finally sat together and I think we are professional enough to move forward.

“I guess [everyone is fine with it]. We’re not babies.”

Horner: Perez’s championship hopes now a priority

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes his drivers will work as a team in Abu Dhabi

Red Bull boss Horner also refused to reveal Verstappen’s reasons after the post-race debriefing, but insisted securing second place in the drivers’ championship is now the team’s priority.

“We go into Abu Dhabi as a team to do the very best we can for Checo to achieve that second place and Max will fully support that,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“I’m not going to go into what we discussed behind closed doors. The drivers have discussed it, they’ve shaken hands and we’re absolutely focused on the next race.”

He also rejected the suggestion that world champion Verstappen is acting as if he is bigger than the team.

“We work as a team, we compete as a team and our aim and our priority is to see if we can get Checo to finish second in the championship.

“It is something we have never achieved as a team before and Max has given his commitment that we will do our best in Abu Dhabi to achieve it.

“It’s a straight fight between Checo and Charles and if Max can help in any way he will.”

Chandhok: A short-sighted decision by Verstappen

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Verstappen was down the order in Sao Paulo because of this collision with Lewis Hamilton

However, Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok believes the move was “shortsighted” from Verstappen, who benefited from Perez holding off Lewis Hamilton in their title-deciding showdown in Abu Dhabi last year.

“Honestly, I don’t get it,” Chandhok said. “He’s won the world championship. I think it’s a bit short-sighted because he might need Checo’s help next year in the world championship fight.

“He needed him last year in Abu Dhabi and he has needed him at other times this year.

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Watch the highlights of the Sao Paulo GP from Interlagos

“I go back to someone like Ayrton Senna. He gave up a win in Japan in 1991 to his teammate because he knew he wanted Gerhard Berger in the side and I think that’s a bit of a short-sighted move there.

“I think it was a racing driver who thought to himself and put a stake in the ground ‘listen, I’m the number one driver in this team’.

“At that moment, as a driver in the cockpit, he doesn’t think about all the other factors so this was very much about him establishing himself as the number one driver in that team.”