Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but failed to help Sergio Perez fight for the runner-up in the F1 World Championship. The Red Bull driver was happy after the race that the team did not order him to block Charles Leclerc.
Lucas Kuchera
Press kit / Red Bull / Pictured: Max Verstappen (left) and Sergio Perez
Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix without any problems, taking his 15th win of the 2022 season. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finished second, just ahead of Sergio Perez, beating the Mexican in his struggle for second place in the Formula 1 World Championship The Red Bull Racing driver was making up for losses at a fast pace in the final laps of the championship, but in the end he was 1.3 seconds behind Monaco.
After the race, Verstappen revealed that he had not been instructed by Red Bull to block Leclerc, which would have helped Perez. “It will be very difficult to do,” the two-time world champion told Sky Sports.
– Besides, you don’t want the World Cup to end like this… You can ban someone, but it wouldn’t be fair. “It wouldn’t be a great way to end the rivalry,” Verstappen added.
Watch the video: #dziejesięsporcie: The video has been viewed more than 2 million times. What a gesture!
The Dutchman told reporters that he was confident in Perez’s ability to compensate for the losses and overtake Leclerc. “It looked like Sergio got close enough to Charles to make a manoeuvre, but then he lost a lot of time in Gasly’s battle with Albon. I saw him on the big screen – report the Red Bull Racing driver.
After the race, Verstappen and Perez realized they could have gone faster in the middle of the race. Then they will be able to build a strong advantage and Leclerc. However, concerns about tire life prevented the Red Bull duo from going too fast. “It’s easy to say now later,” he said.
It is worth noting that the previous week in the Sao Paulo GP race, Verstappen ignored the team’s instructions and did not give the position to Perez. However, the results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix meant that even if the Red Bull drivers were swapped in Brazil, Leclerc would have been world runner-up.
Read also:
There will be more sprints in F1. Unofficial results
Lewis Hamilton is tired. The British nightmare is back
Watch Formula 1 races on PILOT WP
Report an error
WP SportoweFaktyMotorsport Formula 1 Motorsport Red Bull Racing Sergio Perez Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc
“Bacon scholar. Incurable social media ninja. Professional travel aficionado. Beer buff.”
