‘That mask slipped long ago’: How awkward Red Bull moments exposed wounds that won’t ‘heal’

Two races.

That was all it took for simmering tensions at Red Bull to rise to the surface despite a one-two finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez’s win on Monday morning was quickly overshadowed by a series of moments which shone the spotlight on his relationship with Max Verstappen.

First, Verstappen defiantly challenged his team to be able to push for the fastest lap and a championship point.

Then, as Perez celebrated his win with the Red Bull team, Verstappen’s father Jos stood awkwardly among the jubilant group. As Perez was hugged and high-fived by Red Bull staff, Jos completely ignored the Mexican — staring straight ahead.

Shortly after cameras captured an awkward exchange between Perez and Verstappen in the cool down room as the pair discussed who recorded the fastest lap.

Perez was stunned to learn Verstappen had been given the all clear when he was told to maintain the pace. He then called for a review when asked about the incident in his press conference.

“Two laps from the end, they told me to keep a certain pace, they told me I had the fastest lap and to keep the pace, a certain pace,” he told the media.

“I thought the communication was the same to Max, so it’s something we need to review.”

Later on Monday, Perez posted to Twitter: “It was tougher than I thought, but in the end I’m happy to get my fifth victory in F1. Very happy with the result of the team. We are going to keep pushing very hard, I want to be champion”.

However, the Mexican driver quickly deleted the post, uploading the same tweet without the line: “I want to be champion”.

Reflecting on the developments in Saudi Arabia, F1 reporters were quick to declare the wounds of 2022 have not healed.

Tom Cary, writing in The Telegraph, said Verstappen senior’s reaction said everything about his son’s feelings towards his teammate.

“His grim stare straight ahead while Pérez hugged and high-fived team members in his vicinity before the podium ceremony was awkward and fascinating in what it said about the relationship between the Red Bull drivers,” he wrote.

“This is a hangover from what happened in Monaco last year, of course. Verstappen’s camp – led by his father, an ex-Formula One driver himself – were convinced that Pérez’s crash in qualifying in the Principality was deliberate and designed to prevent their man from setting a quick lap.

“Incensed, they petitioned the team to study the telemetry. Whether it was or not, Pérez went on to win that race (the Mexican is fast becoming something of a “street king” with four of his five victories having come on street circuits), opening up a rift which is yet to heal.”

Cary said Perez and Verstappen going toe-to-toe for the championship could be the best thing for the F1.

“While they are cordial in public, there is no love lost between them. Which raises a question: could we have one of those seasons when two team-mates in infinitely superior machinery duke it out to the bitter end for the greater good?,” he wrote.

“Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2016, for instance. Or, most famous of all, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1989.

“It is almost certainly our only hope of a decent title race – unless there is some sort of FIA intervention to rein in the Red Bull.”

Tom Kershaw from The Times in the UK, also reflected on Jos’ post-race reaction.

“Christian Horner, the Red Bull principal, hailed Pérez’s drive as his best for the team, and the winner was soon engulfed by an ecstatic pit crew,” he wrote.

“Keen observers will have noted one figure lurking among them for whom the joy didn’t appear to be shared. Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, stared absently into the distance behind Pérez as if observing an arch-rival rather than a team-mate.

“Perhaps he wasn’t wrong. The Formula One paddock is a place of pretences and feigned friendships, a family that gathers every fortnight or so and bickers amicably enough at lunch before sneering on the journey home.

“The mask at Red Bull slipped long ago and was made plain in São Paulo last year when Verstappen, whose title had already been sealed, repeatedly refused to allow Pérez past him and claim valuable points in the race to be runner-up.”

Kershaw said the tension was unlikely to go away while Perez was pushing Verstappen for championship points.

“Amid Red Bull’s superiority over their competitors on the grid, as evidenced by the astonishing ease with which Verstappen surged through the field, any rift is likely to be strained by what already feels certain to be a two-horse race.”