Damon Hill can see hints of Mark Webber-Sebastian Vettel rivalry between Red Bull teammates Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez(on the left) and Max Verstappen(on the right)
Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 champion, sees the opportunity for future Red Bull tension generated by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Perez is now only 15 points behind Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship after getting a win at the Monaco Grand Prix, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confessing that both of his drivers are now serious contenders.
In the past, the Austrian team has not always been fruitful, with the collapse of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber’s partnership while they were Red Bull teammates representing as a primary determinant. “They [Red Bull] just signed up Sergio [for two more years], he’s not going anywhere for a bit,” said Hill.
The 1996 F1 champion brought into light how Red Bull has a history of creating weird tension between two drivers from their team when they’re both fighting for the title championship. He contends that the Austria-based racing team makes one of the drivers feel left out when such a situation arises.
Damon Hill highlights similarities between Mark Webber-Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez-Max Verstappen partnership
“We had it a lot in the past with Seb [Vettel] and Daniel Ricciardo and with Mark Webber as well. And so watch this space. I think Max is their ace card and everyone’s seen it that way. But he’s quite often said things which are harsh and quite critical of the team to the extent where he’s accusing them of ruining his championship rather than saying, ‘it’s a problem we’ve got and I’m sure they’ll fix it because we’re a team we’re all one, we fight and lose as one’, that hasn’t come out of his mouth yet,” explained Hill.
Verstappen’s third-place finish in Monaco supported that hypothesis, as Perez ended up winning the race. Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, was openly contemptuous of Red Bull in his post-race section, claiming that they did almost nothing to assist Max, who, as the Championship leader, should have garnered a strategic decision.
So, Formula 1 journalist Tom Clarkson believes there is every chance that in Baku this year, Red Bull will face another situation where they must manage their driver dynamic carefully. The issue was first flagged up in Spain, where Red Bull denied Perez’s request to pass Verstappen, despite Perez showing more pace and being in with a better shot at passing George Russell, while Verstappen was struggling with a DRS issue. Yet later in the race, Perez was ordered to yield to Verstappen who went on to win the race.
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Rishika Saha
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