Max Verstappen has defused suggestions of a rift between himself and former Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez after the Mexican suggested that the world champion lets his emotions get the better of him on the track.
The tension dates back to the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, where rumours swirled about a dispute between the two Red Bull teammates after a crash of Perez‘s in qualifying left Verstappen unable to put in as quick a lap as he could have in Q3.
While neither driver publicly acknowledged any fallout at the time, Perez revealed that Verstappen had harboured concerns for months before bringing them up in private. Speaking on the Desde el Paddock podcast earlier in the week, Perez explained how Verstappen‘s emotions can be bottled up for a long time.
“Max had an issue with what happened in Monaco,” Perez explained. “He never told me directly, he kept it to himself and brought it up six or eight months later. At the time, we talked about it and cleared everything up.
“He had something on his mind from qualifying in Monaco – we talked about it at the next race in Baku, and it was all settled. But Max is like that. He holds things in until he finally lets them out, usually on the track.”
Verstappen issues response to Perez
Naturally, many people took these quotes to be an admission of a bad relationship that existed between the two Red Bull drivers. Talking to the press (including Total-Motorsport.com) before the Austrian GP this week, Verstappen was quick to explain that the quotes were actually misinterpreted by the media and fans.
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“I also think how you word [the question] is not how he meant it,” Verstappen said at the Red Bull Ring.
“I have a great relationship with Checo, we were great teammates and so I have a lot of respect for him, he has a lot of respect for me, and that is it from my side. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing him again in the paddock soon, and I still need to give him a helmet of mine.
“I promised him that because he gave me one of his with a very nice message on it, and I promised him that hopefully, around Mexico, I can give him one of mine. So for me, whatever is written in the media, I know how Checo is and we have a great relationship.”
Upgrades in Austria for Red Bull
Red Bull has found itself trailing far behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship thanks to the lack of points from the second seat, whilst Verstappen seems to be struggling to hold on to the two McLaren‘s in the Drivers’ Standings right now.
The Dutchman has been vocal about where the cars weaknesses are this season but there will be some new parts to hopefully enjoy the benefits of in Austria this weekend.
“Hopefully it gives us a bit more performance. The team has been working hard to get these parts, so I’m happy we have an upgrade here. Every little bit forward helps us be more competitive and hopefully close the gap a little bit,” Verstappen said.
“But we also know that others are also bringing upgrades throughout the year, so we just need to keep working hard and keep trying to close that gap.”
