It could very well be. After Sergio Perez's dominant drive to victory at this year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, tension was felt throughout the Red Bull camp as the team packed up and looked ahead to the next race weekend in Australia. Media outlets, however, were going crazy with the prospect of an intense rivalry forming between the two Red Bull drivers, with many predicting that it may not be happy families at the team for much longer. But this isn't the first time tensions have been felt between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. How long will it be until things really boil over?
Up until recently things have been relatively calm at the team that is dominating the 2023 season. Perez, the obvious number two driver, most notably helped Verstappen to his first world championship in 2021. The following year, 2022, the cracks started to show.
It was Q3 during qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix. Verstappen was on a hot lap that was looking good enough for pole. Perez, on the other hand, had already posted a quick time before spinning and crashing during his final attempt, bringing out the red flag and ultimately ending the session prematurely. Due to Perez out-qualifying Verstappen, rumours began to circulate that he (Perez) crashed deliberately. The media also started to report that Perez admitted his deliberate mistake to Red Bull team principal; Christian Horner, although this hasn't ever been confirmed. If true, this would later come back to haunt Perez during the Brazilian Grand Prix when Verstappen ignored team orders; supposedly as an act of revenge, to swap places with him on the last lap, a move that eventually cost Perez 2nd position in the World Drivers Championship. Regardless, even though Perez's "deliberate" crash is just a rumour, it looks to have caused quite a bit of friction between the teammates that has translated over to 2023 with Verstappen "stealing" Perez's fastest lap after the team gave them both a set pace at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This irritated Perez to the point of confronting his teammate in the cool down room infront of the cameras. Awkard. But, are we looking too much into this? It's possible.
It's no secret that Verstappen is the main driver at Red Bull. With back to back World Championships and 36 victories to date, he sets the bar quite high when it comes to teammate rivalries. However, during his time with the Red Bull team, he hasn't necessarily ever been paired with a driver who can compete at his level giving him number one driver status and a huge influence within the team. Come 2023 and things are changing. Red Bull are dominating Formula One and Perez seems to be on good form, despite inconsistencies in previous seasons. Verstappen, on the other hand, is still as strong as ever but it seems as if Perez will try his hardest not to let Verstappen walk away with this season's championship. A deleted tweet from the Mexican driver after his Saudi Arabian victory said:
“It was harder than I thought. But in the end I am happy to achieve my fifth victory in F1. We are going to keep pushing very hard, I want to be a champion.” @SChecoPerez
Of course Perez would like to be champion. Every Formula One driver would like to be champion but after re-posting the above tweet later on, although without the "I want to be champion"line, you can't help but wonder; has the team already intervened?
Regardless, it seems pretty obvious to your average Joe that Perez has no interest in helping Verstappen to championship number three in '23. A lot has happened between the two in the past year and a relationship between them is pretty "non-existent." And, right now, Perez sees an opportunity, possible his only opportunity, to win. The main difference between a champion and good racing driver is selfishness, a quality Verstappen carries well and one we may start to see from Perez on a regular basis.
If Perez can remain consistent and take the battle to Verstappen then things will take a bigger turn in the wrong direction. And, with the amount of influence Verstappen has on the Red Bull team, it could mean trouble for Perez. Should it be like this though? With a such a dominant car shouldn't both drivers be entitled to race for the championship? As we've seen in the past, most recently with Mercedes, two teammates fighting for the championship very rarely has a happy ending. Challenges are definitely on the horizon for Red Bull. Will they reign the teammates in or let it play out? Time will tell but it's looking to be very interesting.
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