Max Verstappen started the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP from P15 on the grid after a reliability issue forced him to retire from qualifying. Despite his low starting position, most people put their money on him fighting his way up the order, and that’s what we saw on Sunday.
Verstappen would probably have made his way to the podium places in Jeddah, but a safety car made his life much easier as he found himself behind teammate and leader Sergio Perez with plenty of time to pass him for the race win. Unfortunately, P2 was the most the 2-time champion could muster as Perez held on to his lead to win his fifth F1 race.
Verstappen is now just a point ahead of Perez in the drivers’ standings and fans are wondering if they’ll be allowed to fight each other in case they end up being championship rivals as the year progresses. Both Verstappen and Perez are looking forward to it, but will Red Bull let that go ahead?
Christian Horner reveals conversation with Max Verstappen
It is still very early days in the 2023 championship battle but Verstappen was very disappointed with Red Bull after finishing second in Jeddah. The 25-year-old was desperate to finish first, but the team refused to order Perez to give up his lead.
There does not seem to be any friction between Perez and Verstappen at the moment, but that may be because of the conversation team principal Christian Horner had with his two drivers before the race. After the race, Horner said to the media that he told both his drivers that they were free to fight to each other.
🗣️ | 🇸🇦 Christian Horner on the team agreement before the Saudi Arabian GP:
“We’ve got a great car and two great drivers – we talked about it in the briefing earlier today ‘You’re free to race, but you keep it clean’ – they’re both competitive.” pic.twitter.com/xki2ydE02Y
— RBR News 🇳🇱🇲🇽 (@redbulletin) March 19, 2023
Horner added that both Perez and Verstappen are great drivers who were allowed to be themselves on track, but he also pleaded with them to keep it clean. The fact that they had decided on not going ahead with team orders even before the race started might have limited Verstappen’s anger post-race.
Verstappen vs Perez in the championship battle?
Perez has never been a part of a championship battle in his life. Since joining Red Bull in 2021, he has played second fiddle to Verstappen as the team’s full focus was on helping the Dutchman secure the championship.
Currently, Perez is just a point away from Verstappen after two races, so he will be hoping to be involved in a championship battle for the first time ever. Whether Red Bull allow their teammates to fight each other or not, however, is yet to be seen.
