Christian Horner: Max Verstappen- Sergio Perez row caused by team mistake

Red Bull’s Christian Horner believes the team, rather than the drivers, are to blame for the row between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in Brazil in 2022; Verstappen refused to let Perez through as he battled for second place against Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that the row between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix was caused by a team mistake.

Perez was struggling on medium tyres following a late Safety Car at Interlagos and the team asked him to allow 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 Verstappen was asked to fulfil that agreement on the final lap he did not respond and when prompted again told his team: “I told you already last summer. You guys don’t ask that again to me, ok? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it.”

There was speculation around the paddock that Verstappen had long been upset at an incident that had occurred in the Monaco GP earlier in the season, which was what motivated his remarkable resistance to the team orders in Brazil.

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the chapter is closed on the Brazil Grand Prix after Max Verstappen refused to let Sergio Perez overtake him.

The team were forced to hold clear-the-air talks in the immediate aftermath of the race and since, Horner has admitted that blame should be placed with the team rather than either of the drivers.

“I think the root cause of the problem was we had never envisaged being in a situation, being in the final few laps, being in sixth and seventh place in that Grand Prix,” said Horner.

“And I think it was something that, as we hadn’t envisaged it, we hadn’t discussed it before the race, and I think that was a mistake on our part, that we should have thought through or tried to think through every single scenario.

“And so, I think that was a mistake as a team that we didn’t discuss it and come up with a very clear plan. Obviously, it was unfortunate what happened, but it was quickly discussed, openly and transparently. And both drivers were very clear, open, and honest with each other, and from that as a team we move on and the dynamic between the drivers is absolutely fine.”

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen says he had his reasons for not granting the place back to his teammate Sergio Perez at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Not only is Horner taking blame for the incident, but insists it is a lesson learned for the team as they help Perez and Verstappen build towards the 2023 season.

“I think we made some mistakes in Brazil, we’ve learned from that and as I say, we move on. We’ve done some amazing things,” added Horner.

“These two drivers have performed incredibly well together. They’re the reason that we are in the position that we are. Max’s season was on another planet last year. So, we’re not going to let the events of a couple of laps in Brazil dictate the year for us.”