Max Verstappen has backed his father Jos Verstappen over his antics on Sergio Perez in last month’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Dutchman said the media always shows the wrong pictures as he found nothing wrong with his father’s behavior.
As per Motorsport.com, Verstappen said he doesn’t like to lose, nor does his father. Calling Verstappen Sr. his “biggest fan“, he said he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary over his father’s conduct.
Jos Verstappen getting caught up in the Sergio Perez celebrations 😅 pic.twitter.com/R8vXNNQ4Cw
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 19, 2023
The two-time world champion added that his teammate got out of the car and wanted to celebrate with his mechanics. Considering that “quite normal”, he clarified, “another father does not belong to that party, of course.”
“Therefore my father did not get in there,” Verstappen asserted. The Dutch pilot also added that something like that is completely normal even if some people have different perspectives.
What happened between Jos Verstappen and Sergio Perez?
The 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix saw a rather awkward incident take place between the father of Verstappen and Checo Perez. The awkward antic gathered huge criticism on social media as it was regarded as very unprofessional.
The incident came to light after the Mexican driver won the Jeddah race and went to celebrate in front of the podium stand. He finished the race in P1, ahead of his teammate Verstappen in P2.
Jos Verstappen has said he was disappointed to see Red Bull use strategy to favour Sergio Perez over his son, Max Verstappen, in Monaco 🏎👀 pic.twitter.com/yWKwQUloME
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 31, 2022
As the 33-year-old got out of his car and hugged his mechanics, Jos Verstappen was seen standing beside them with a pale face. The former F1 driver did not even offer a hand or congratulated his son’s teammate upon his victory.
Sergio Perez, however, has no issues with Jos Verstappen
As there was an outrage on social media following the snub, Perez has played it cool. The former Racing driver said that he has a good relationship with his teammate’s father and has mutual respect, despite the latter’s reputation.
The 33-year-old also added that they shook hands, but the media didn’t show that. Calling out the social media criticism, Perez said that people like to create stories that don’t exist.
Sergio Perez also supported Jos Verstappen as he was not smiling. He said one doesn’t have to smile every day and all the time as this is a sport and this is how they treat it.
