Red Bull instructed Sergio Perez to not fight Max Verstappen for the lead of the race once again at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Perez was having a very strong Azerbaijan GP until lap 15. He’s been very fast all weekend long and even outqualified Verstappen for the second week in a row.
The Mexican started the race from P2, but immedeately made the jump on pole sitter Leclerc when the race started. Since then, it was Perez who led the race. After Carlos Sainz’s DNF, Ferrari brought Leclerc in for an early pit-stop.
This put Verstappen in P2 right behind Perez and fans wondered how Red Bull would react to this, considering the fact that gap between the two drivers is just 15 points. On lap 15, Verstappen was within DRS range of Perez, and comfortably got past him on turn 1.
A radio message to Perez was soon revealed, which showed that the team asked him to not put up any fight. This enraged a lot of people on social media who feel that the 32-year was asked to give up a race win for Verstappen yet again.
Fans feel Red Bull sabotaged Sergio Perez pit-stop in Baku
Perez was the first off the two Red Bull drivers to pit in Baku on Sunday. However, much to the former Racing Point driver’s disappointment, it was a slow stop. It took the team more than five seconds to change his tyres, and he lost a lot of time to Verstappen.
This particular chain of events had effectively ended Perez’s chance of winning the Azerbaijan GP. Fans were not happy, and took to Twitter to bash Red Bull for allegedly ruining his race.
Before Leclerc’s pit stop, the Ferrari engineer suggested that Perez was struggling with traction. Some fans think that the Mexican driver took too much out of his tyres in the front stint and Red Bull had no choice other than swapping positions up front.
