Double victory, fastest lap, successful catch-up race by Max Verstappen: At first glance, Red Bull Racing can leave Jeddah very satisfied. Sergio Perez clinched his fifth Grand Prix victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, world champion Verstappen drove from 15th on the grid to second place.
But at second glance it becomes clear that the relationship between the two drivers is still not perfect. Verstappen snatched the fastest lap from his Red Bull teammate. The Dutchman got the bonus point in the last lap and travels to Melbourne as the world championship leader – one point ahead of Perez.
It was not possible to exert any influence from the command post, as motorsport consultant Dr. Helmut Marko assured the ‘ORF’: “We couldn’t control that. That was Max. The two of them kept asking: who drives the fastest lap? And of course Max waited until the last moment so that Perez could no longer counter.”
Max Verstappen follows his instincts
So does Verstappen continue to ignore team orders, as he did last year at the Grand Prix in Interlagos (Brazil)? After all, Marko thinks that Verstappen and Perez “kept relatively to our specifications”. However, he is indicating that one is not one hundred percent satisfied with Verstappen’s solo effort.
After the race, Perez also seemed a little surprised that Verstappen accelerated again on the very last lap for the bonus point. “I asked them two laps before the end and they told me to drive at a certain pace. They told me that I had set the fastest lap and that I should keep my pace,” he reports.
But: “I thought the communication with Max would have been the same. We’ll have to look at that again, because I definitely got other information and in the end I couldn’t push anymore.” For his part, the two-time world champion had repeatedly asked on the radio about the fastest race lap – and finally followed his instinct.
Sergio Perez ‘only thought about the car’
“We were allowed [beide] drive freely and had a target lap time at the end. But when it comes to one point, like in Bahrain… I asked. It’s something special when it’s decided between these two cars. I think it’s normal to ask,” Verstappen said after the race.
Perez, on the other hand, was careful to manage his cushion on the one hand, and on the other hand it was important to avoid a defect like Verstappen in qualifying. Caution was the top priority for the victorious Red Bull driver in Jeddah.
“I was just thinking about the car. I had some vibrations and of course in the back of my mind what happened to Max. And I’m sure the team had that in mind too. It was just about getting both cars to the finish, to score as many points as possible”, is how the Mexican describes his approach in the final laps of the race.
dr Marko: Can’t forbid Max to do the fastest lap
In managing the lead, Perez came in handy with the dictate from the top to hold positions. “We said: Five laps before the end, five seconds behind, you can’t catch up. Or if you catch up, you can’t overtake. Both of them got that,” said Dr. Marco continue.
Especially since the pace of the two was “quite similar”, according to Perez, “a tenth faster or slower”. That is why he is also convinced that nothing would have changed in the result. But on the fastest lap, according to Dr. Marko, it was clear “that you can’t ban Max”. These misunderstandings about the final phase must now be worked up.