Sergio Perez hits out at ‘unfair’ Red Bull order to surrender Spanish GP to Max Verstappen | F1 | Sport
Sergio Perez wasn’t happy with Red Bull ordering him to surrender the lead in the Spanish Grand Prix to Max Verstappen. The Mexican driver labelled the decision ‘very unfair’ as he let the Dutchman reclaim P1 and close in on his third successive race win this season.
Perez passed George Russell for the race lead on lap 31 as Verstappen pitted for the third and final time. The Dutchman re-entered the race in second place on fresh medium tyres, just 5s behind his teammate, and after lapping over a second faster, he had cut the lead to just 2.5s on lap 48.
Just minutes later, Red Bull poured cold water on the debate of whether they would allow their two drivers to race at the front of the pack. They asked Perez to surrender his lead to Verstappen due to the latter’s pace advantage, and he co-operated, given he would’ve likely been passed regardless.
He wasn’t best pleased about the ordeal, though, responding: “That’s very unfair, but OK.” But Verstappen was unsurprisingly grateful as he coasted towards his latest triumph, number four for the season in his pursuit of retaining the Drivers’ Championship, saying: “Thank you, mate.”
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Verstappen’s victory in Barcelona is his 24th as an F1 driver and continued an impressive run of winning every single race he has finished this season. Despite Perez’s disgruntlement about handing Verstappen the lead, his second-place finish completed an excellent one-two for Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc’s retirement midway through the race made it an even more disappointing afternoon for Ferrari. But late Mercedes issues allowed Carlos Sainz to overtake Lewis Hamilton and secure a P4 finish behind George Russell, who achieved his second podium place of the 2022 campaign.
READ MORE: Mercedes predict they will ‘close down’ Ferrari and Red Bull
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