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Red Bull has issued a statement saying they “made some mistakes” during the Brazilian Grand Prix, referring to the incident where Max Verstappen chose not to return P6 to his teammate Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the race. Perez lost places on medium tires and ceded P6 to Verstappen to pry P5 off Fernando Alonso.
When asked to return to the place after a failed attempt to pass the Alpine, Verstappen did not comply. It meant Perez heads to this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on points with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rather than two points ahead.
Red Bull’s Christian Horner reiterated that “we need to improve our procedures next year” regarding team orders.
Tension after the flag for Max and Checo 🏁#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hyEX5OZwa9
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 13, 2022
On Thursday in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull released a statement explaining how events unfolded regarding the request made to Verstappen and after that.
“As a team, we made some mistakes in Brazil. We had not envisaged the situation that unfolded on the last lap, and we had not agreed on a strategy for such a scenario before the race,” they said.
“Regretfully, Max was only informed at the final corner of the request to give up position without all the necessary information being relayed. This put Max, who has always been an open and fair team player, in a compromising situation with little time to react, which was not our intention.
“Following the race, Max spoke openly and honestly, allowing both drivers to resolve outstanding issues or concerns. The team accepted Max’s reasoning, the conversation was a personal matter which would remain private between the team, and no further comment will be made.
“The events that followed from a social media point of view are completely unacceptable,” the statement went on. “The abusive online behavior towards Max, Checo, the team, and their respective families is shocking and saddening. Unfortunately, it is something we as a sport must address with depressing regularity.
“There is no place for it in racing or society as a whole, and we need to do and be better. This is a sport; we are here to race. Death threats hate mail, and abuse towards extended family members is deplorable. We value inclusion and want a safe space for everyone to work in and enjoy our sport. The abuse needs to stop.”
