Sergio Perez slams Max Verstappen: 'I don't understand his attitude'

Red Bull Racing appears to have a feud brewing between its two drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. The friction was laid bare on Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix after Perez slammed Verstappen for refusing to follow team orders to help him gain much-needed points.

To put things in perspective, it must be pointed out that Verstappen has already claimed this season's Drivers' World Championship title. Meanwhile, Perez is battling for second place mainly against Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

In Brazil, Verstappen overtook his teammate for 6th place at the restart after a late safety car. The team hoped Verstappen could overtake both Fernando Alonso's Alpine and Leclerc to help Perez.

Perez was told that if Verstappen could not overtake the cars in front, then he would let the Mexican pass in the end to help him gain more points. When the final lap rolled around, Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase instructed the Dutchman to give the place back to his teammate.

However, Verstappen refused to back down, eventually crossing the line up on Alonso's gearbox and four seconds ahead of Perez. The reigning champion told Lambiase on the radio: "I told you already last time, you guys don't ask that again to me, OK? Are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it."

Perez was clearly livid after being denied assistance by his teammate. "It shows who he really is," he said on the radio. Moments later, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Bird apologised to Perez over the radio, telling him that they will settle the issue when they debrief after the race.

Perez has since spoken to the media, saying that he is disappointed and does not understand Verstappen's attitude. "If he has two titles, it's thanks to me," he said, as quoted by the BBC.

Verstappen had nothing to gain after already winning the championship, but Perez lost out on two points that could have taken him ahead of Leclerc in the drivers' standings. After Brazil, Perez and Leclerc are now tied for second place with 290 points apiece.

After an internal meeting, the Dutch driver gave a cryptic statement to the media: "I understand from Checo's side he is disappointed. But I also gave my reasons why I didn't do it, about something that happened in the past."

He also claimed that everyone within the team understands why he did what he did and that they are all looking towards the final race in Abu Dhabi. He also confirmed that he is ready to provide the Mexican any assistance he may need to claim second place.

Team principal Christian Horner also confirmed that his two drivers have spoken about what happened. He did not elaborate on what the discussion was about, but he emphasised that the goal for the final race is clear to everyone at Red Bull. "We will go to Abu Dhabi to get Checo the second place and Max will support that. We won't talk about what happens internally but the drivers shook hands on it.

Meanwhile, F1 media and fans are outraged by the situation, with many slamming Verstappen for his refusal to hand the place to his teammate. It remains to be seen if the problem will continue to fester within the Red Bull garage, or if Horner will be able to arrest the problem as they prepare to defend their double World Championship titles next season.