‘Were you not told?’: Red Bull stars in frosty exchange after Mad Max’s defiant move

You could almost cut the tension with a knife.

Despite a one-two finish for Red Bull with Sergio Perez winning and Max Verstappen finishing just behind him, neither felt fully satisfied with the result.

That simmering feeling was on show in the cooldown room after the race when a conversation between the pair hinted at some frustration, especially from Perez.

The Mexican star was comfortably winning while Verstappen charged from his starting position of 15th all the way up to second.

Despite the defending champ wanting to race and go for glory, he was instructed to ease off and for he and Perez to drive at a certain pace.

But on the final lap, Verstappen put the pedal to the metal and took home the fastest lap.

In the cooldown room, Perez was slightly baffled as to why his teammate was able to go for it.

Perez asked: “Am I the fastest lap in the end? On the last lap?

Verstappen replied: “On the last lap, yeah.”

Perez takes a moment and runs his hand through his hair before serving a follow-up question that hinted at the anger bubbling away inside him: “Were you not told to keep the pace?”

Verstappen, not squirming at the direct line of questioning, said: “Ah, 33.0, yeah. But then I asked what as the fastest lap and I think it was a tenth faster than what we were doing.”

According to Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, the push on the final lap was just “typical” Max behaviour.

“That was uncontrollable,” Marko told Austrian television station.

“That’s just Max. Both were constantly asking who had the fastest lap and Max waited until the last lap so Perez couldn’t counter.

“It means the lead in the world championship for him. We are very satisfied with the race.”