Jos Verstappen after F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: “Sergio Perez doesn’t get chance to win often - he sees that, too”
Pere꧅z took victory in Jeddah froꦯm pole position, holding off a spirited Verstappen who went from 15th to second after a power problem hampered his qualifying.
Jos Verstappen was not in particularly animated 🦩mood when his son’s teammate celebrated his win with Red Bull staff afterwards.
Jos has since told : "Of course we🐎 all want to win. But that wasn't on the cards today. The margin was too small for tha൩t.
“[Perez] doesn't get 🎐the chance that often, I think. He sees that too and ♊then goes for it.”
Max and Perez had an unexpected run-in at the end of 2022, despite Red Bull domina🦩ting the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, highlighting the friction between the drivers.
Max 𓄧Verstappen was on course for pole position u🌞ntil a drive shaft issue stopped his run.
“☂It was now disappointing for us in qualifying,” his father reflect🐭ed.
“Pure bad luck, I won't go into꧃ that. We know what it is. But otherwise, Max just drives easily to that pole position. And then the race is a bit easier.
“Because we actually predicted: it is quite difficult to c🧸ome forward here. This is a circuit with long turners, it's hard to make a difference there. We need to have tougher tracks and more corners."
Red Bull won in Bahrain through Verstappen, then in Saudi Arabia via Perez. Already, their do🃏minance looks insurmountable.
"It looks like we're going to be dominant,” Jos said𝔉. “We have a very good car.
“If you saw how easily they drove away now: a 𒅌second faster. Can the rest of that be made up this year? I don't know.🌠 But it's not like we're standing still, is it? We also come with updates."
Max sits above his teammate in the F1 standings, after a win apiece, after he took the fastest lap bonus point in Jed﷽dah.
This was another cause for concern between the Red Bull drivers - Perez implied that he wasn’t given the a♊ppropriate information to claim the bonus point himself.
"I just knew he was going🥀 to do it," Jos said about his son’s fastest lap. "Niꦬce, isn't it? At least that way he remains the leader in the championship."
James was a sports jour🗹nalist at Sky🌌 Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
