Max Verstappen has recently opened up on his own security that he beefed up ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix. This came right after Helmut Marko made contradictory remarks that the Red Bull driver did not want any security in Sergio Perez’s country.
As F1 moved to Mexico for the 19th round of the 2023 F1 season, Marko said as per Racingnews365, “Max doesn’t actually want that and is relaxed. But we have responsibility for him, so we just want to be on the safe side.”
Close Qualifying today. But still, all to play for 👊
There’s a long race ahead, so we’ll give it our all @redbullracing 💪#MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/RXYuL1Lf7T
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 29, 2023
However, now, Verstappen came ahead to reveal as per GP Blog, “I arranged the bodyguards myself. This is not done through the team and happens often. This is the first time in Mexico, but we don’t have to spend that much time on that.”
Why did Verstappen arrange security for himself?
Despite sharing an amicable relationship at the start of their companionship, things turned sour between the two drivers off late. As Perez was happy to play the second fiddle behind Verstappen initially, the 2023 F1 season saw otherwise.
During the first four races of this season, the two Red Bull drivers were on an even keel. So much so that the Mexican driver was hopeful of taking the title challenge to his teammate. This created a rift between them as they were right against one another and gave birth to team Perez and team Verstappen.
Big smiles for race day in Mexico 🇲🇽#F1 #RedBullRacing #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/KLjTMkZ7ez
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) October 29, 2023
Therefore, Mexico being the 33-year-old’s home country naturally gives all its support to its own driver. Hence, Max Verstappen is surely not the man welcome in Perez’s territory. Even he was also booed earlier in Mexico, which Perez condemned and asked for support instead.
Despite tough Red Bull days, Papa Perez praises Marko
Helmut Marko has been a character who has always been critical of Sergio Perez. The Red Bull veteran always pointed out the issues with the Mexican driver and was vocal about how he has failed to cope with his teammate Verstappen.
Despite this, Perez’s father Antonio Perez has full appraisal for the Austrian. Praising him, Papa Perez said, “Dr. Marko is the best, the best sponsor Checo could have all over the world. He is mentally a winner and pushes Checo. I love that and I love Dr. Marko.”
Nevertheless, the 33-year-old faced constant criticism from fans and experts alike for his dip in performance. The former Racing Point driver failed to justify his place in Red Bull in spite of having the monstrous RB-19 underneath him. Even his first lap crash at the 2023 Mexico City GP is an example of that.
