“It wouldn’t be the nicest way to go out”: Max Verstappen on why he didn’t block Charles Leclerc for Sergio Perez

In the season’s last race, Sergio Perez was required to finish above Charles Leclerc to finish P2 in the standings. However, the Mexican race driver failed to do so and finished P3 with a difference of three points.

On the other hand, Max Verstappen won the race. With this win, the Dutchman takes his wins tally to 15, the most by any F1 driver in a season. The display by him showcased the sheer dominance he displayed across the year.

But when it comes to being a teammate, many will argue that the two-time world champion lacked considerably over there as the story of Brazil continued in Abu Dhabi too.

Two wins, 11 podiums and a first-career Pole Position 👏

You can be incredibly proud of this season, @SChecoPerez 🏆 pic.twitter.com/sQzhDTXTCC

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 20, 2022

Also read: Andrew Tate claims he can beat Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in his $3.8 million Bugatti

Why Max Verstappen didn’t block Charles Leclerc for Sergio Perez

In Brazil, Verstappen didn’t allow Leclerc to overtake him and gain an advantage in the championship standings for the runner-up spot. It led to a huge media rage against Verstappen. Though, both drivers proclaimed that the issue had been resolved within the team and Perez would be helped in Abu Dhabi.

But nothing happened in the last race of the season. It can be argued that Perez never got an opportunity to be helped by Verstappen on Sunday.

After the race, Verstappen admits he didn’t receive a message from Red Bull to even ease his pace to hold Leclerc and allow hunting Perez to catch Leclerc.

But Verstappen also questions whether that would have been a fair thing to do. The Dutchman argues that he wouldn’t want to end the season like this.

“You also don’t want to end up… you can possibly block, but is that fair racing? I think it wouldn’t be the nicest way to go out of the championship and out of the season like that,” said Verstappen.

Perez got slow

Unlike his opponent Leclerc, the Mexican race driver made a double pit stop. The aim was to undercut the Ferrari star, but he didn’t go for a second pitstop.

However, there were enough laps left for Perez to catch Leclerc with fresher tyres. However, he missed the Monegasque by a second by the end of the race.

Verstappen sympathized with Perez over this. He remarks that his teammate got stuck in the scuffle between Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon and lost significant time.

Also read: Charles Leclerc was promised additional bonus on his $12 Million salary for beating Sergio Perez, reveals George Russell

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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