Red Bull team-mates Verstappen and Perez in awkward chat over fastest lap
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was left speechless after finding out Max Verstappen stole his fastest lap during an awkward post-race chat.
The Mexican led the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix from start to finish and had posted the fastest lap heading into the final lap. After suffering a mechanical issue in qualifying two-time world champion Verstappen worked his way from 15th on the grid to finish second.
The Dutch driver then boosted his drivers' championship points tally by gaining an extra point for posting the fastest lap of the race. However, Perez believed that he had gained the bonus point leading to an awkward exchange between the team-mates.
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Watching a replay of the race while awaiting the podium Perez questioned the Dutchman if he had taken the fastest lap from him. Verstappen nodded and replied: "On the last lap, yeah." The answer was met with silence from Perez who then questioned what the team had told the Dutchman. "Were you not told?" the question resulting in another awkward response from his team-mate.
"But then I asked what the fastest lap was, and I think it was a tenth faster than what I was doing," replied Verstappen which was followed by silence.
Eagle eyed fans noticed that Verstappen was sat in the middle seat in the waiting room, reserved for race winner Perez. Third placed finisher Fernando Alonso broke the following silence between the team-mates by picking up the conversation.
After taking the fifth win of his career Perez was left questioning why Red Bull bosses had allowed his team-mate to steal the bonus point from him after he was told to hold a lower pace.
Perez later said: “We need to review because I certainly got different information and I just couldn’t push it there. I asked two laps from the end, where they told me to keep a certain pace. They told me I had the fastest lap and to keep the pace, a certain pace. So I thought the communication was the same to Max or something.”
Was Max Verstappen right to take the fastest lap from his team-mate in Jeddah? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section
However, two-time world champion Verstappen had a different take on the situation and suggested that both cars were 'free to race' for the bonus driver's championship point.
He added: “With a few laps to go, I asked what the fastest lap was.
“We were, first of all, free to race and, of course, we had a target lap time to the end. It’s a point on the line, and it was also the same in Bahrain. It got asked. So especially when it’s just between the two cars, I think it’s quite normal you ask for what the fastest lap is.”
It was the first sign of tension between the Red Bull team-mates after a heated moment at last season's Brazilian Grand Prix when Verstappen refused to allow Perez past for vital points, despite having already won his second world championship.
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