Max Verstappen has explained why he prefers dedicated racetracks to street circuits ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, after Sergio Perez scored his best Formula 1 victory to date in Azerbaijan.
Perez has won both traditional street track races in 2023, and all five of his Red Bull victories have come on such circuits, while his win in Baku moved him to just six points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.
“I personally don’t really enjoy street circuits so probably there’s something in that,” Verstappen told reporters. “I more prefer the fast corners but that’s how it goes, you have a few street circuits and a few normal tracks as well.
“I think some tracks probably suit you a bit better and probably for Checo, his driving style and the way he likes the car probably suits street circuits a bit better.”
No civil war inside Red Bull
Verstappen also confirmed there’s no damaging inter-team rivalry at Red Bull.
F1 history is littered with teammates falling out and tearing the team apart in a title battle, most recently Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes – but the Red Bull drama still has some way to go to top that rivalry.
There have been moments where things have flared up between both drivers though – at Interlagos in 2022 Verstappen refused to help Perez fight for second in the drivers’ championship and there was a spat between both drivers’ fathers after the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP.
With Red Bull so far ahead of the rest of the grid it looks like only Verstappen and Perez had a chance at battling for the title, but Verstappen insisted things were normal within the team.
“We have a good understanding between us, a good relationship,” Verstappen said.
“So I think what we want to focus on I think is just to try and make the car better and faster to try and stay ahead of everyone else, that’s the main objective and then the rest you will do on track anyway.”
