Ralf Schumacher claims Max Verstappen ‘ultimately decides’ on his Red Bull teammates amidst the drama over Sergio Perez’s future

Max Verstappen is undoubtedly Red Bull’s most prized possession; he has been with the team for a long time, and Christian Horner and Co. fully believe in his abilities. While he’s doing another sensational F1 season this year, the former F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher, has claimed that Verstappen is the one who has the ultimate decision-making authority when it comes to choosing his teammates.

Max Verstappen has performed in a league of his own, especially during the ongoing season, and his current teammate, Sergio Perez, has not been able to come anywhere near the kind of performances he has put in so far. The Mexican’s seat at Red Bull has come under a lot of debate in recent times, and Ralf Schumacher feels it is only a matter of time before he is shown the exit door.

While discussing the same and Verstappen’s say in major decisions at Red Bull, he said, as reported by Motorsport, “Perez made another mistake when he hit the wall at the entrance to the pit lane and was also penalized for this, which eventually cost him second place. “I think his days at Red Bull are numbered.”

Schumacher added, “I assume that Verstappen ultimately decides who his teammate will be. It happened with Senna, my brother had that right too. If a driver like Verstappen contributes so much to the team’s success, I also think it’s good to support him as much as possible.“

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Max Verstappen is leading Red Bull’s charge during 2023

While Ralf Schumacher ardently believes that Max Verstappen holds a lot of pull at Red Bull, the latter has done extremely well this year and has left no stone unturned in brilliantly leading the team’s charge. Because of his efforts, the Milton-Keynes-based is comfortably leading the Constructors Championship, with him having a strong grip at the top spot in the Drivers bout.

As things stand, Red Bull has managed a highly impressive 540 points in the season, whereas Max Verstappen, on the other hand, has also done tremendously well to create a buffer of 138 points at the top of the 2023 Drivers Championship. Moreover, he is currently on a consecutive nine-race winning streak.

Round 15 of the ongoing campaign is just around the corner and will take the F1 extravaganza from Zandvoort to the picturesque Autodromo Nazionale Monza F1 circuit. Considering it is the home race of the Ferrari F1 team, they would try their best to end Max Verstappen’s rampage at the front end of the grid.

In case you missed it:

• Sergio Perez shots down claims that Red Bull will dominate till 2026
• Andrea Stella rues Lando Norris’s missed shot at a podium in the Dutch GP

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