The first victory of the season a Jeddah for Sergio Perez it was consumed not only in celebrations but also in internal controversies. Red Bull has no rivals, at least in this first phase of the championship, so the drivers are "free" to fight. Or at least that's what Perez hopes. After a quiet start the presence of a tough nut to crack like Max Verstappen, who started from the back and came on the heels of his teammate put the Mexican under pressure. Thus the communications with the team, which required Perez to keep a certain pace, were transformed into an interrogation on the communications received by Max, which then continued at the end of the race, when The Mexican discovered just before getting on the podium that the Dutchman had stolen the fastest lap point from him.
The denials
The controversy continued with a debate between Perez and Christian Horner. The Mexican initially accused the team of not having informed him of being able to push, while Horner denied, reiterating that Perez had had a chance to respond to Max. However, this possibility was not taken by the Mexican. “He knew Max would give it a go, but gave up after the first two corners. He was already a tenth and a half away from himself, and then he gave up ”.
Two weeks later, in Australia, things at Red Bull seem to have calmed down. Speaking to the media on Thursday in Melbourne, Perez said he had a confrontation with the team, which led to a reconciliation. “Things are fine now. We talked about the episode in Jeddah and we are all on the same line. We learned from this episode. I was convinced I didn't get the right information, but looking back on it, the team did a good job." The Mexican therefore retraced his steps, but that doesn't take away his desire to fight for something more than a victory, especially with a dominant Red Bull.
Australia a different challenge
However, the challenges are not over yet. Melbourne is a totally different stage and establishing yourself here is important. Red Bull's last success here dates back to 2011 with Sebastian Vettel.“We hope to maintain this trend. For the team it was two fantastic races, but there is still a long way to go, so it will be very important, every weekend is a new challenge. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are very different tracks, and Australia will be another challenge for us and for this car. We have a very good pace and are working hard together to ensure our reliability as well. It's been a fun start to 2023, but we need to maintain our high level."Perez concluded.
Source statements: F1
