Formula 1: In the closing circuits of the Jeddah race, the race’s leader Perez and his Red Bull teammate Verstappen made a strong effort, with the Mexican driver successfully preserving the lead. Verstappen, on the other hand, heard an odd noise that prompted the team to investigate the data for any indications of a potential repetition of the Dutch driver’s driveshaft failure in qualifying, while Perez was concerned about a protruding brake pedal. Follow Formula 1 LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN.
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At that time, Perez was eager to see if Verstappen was slowing down after both being instructed to do so.
The team eventually gave the all-clear for both drivers to keep going until they once again controlled the pace when it became apparent that Verstappen would not be able to pass Perez. At the very end of the race, Verstappen did, however, effectively wrest the fastest lap point away from his teammate.
Christian Horner, the team principal, said that when the drivers reached the final five circuits. It became evident that Max was not going to catch up with Perez, they broke free and accelerated to a lap time.
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Horner, when asked about the pit wall’s request for Perez to lap in “target plus 0.4s.”, said that they had suspicions when they had some problems with the driveshaft. So, at that point, their main intention was to put a little bit of margin. Perez questioned Verstappen at that point and added that the drivers were “pushing for no reason” due to reliability concerns. Horner claimed to have an understanding of Perez’s worries.
He continued that as the lead vehicle, there will inevitably be such problems. So, they want to always verify that the tail car was the first to strike the target. As a team, they were worried about how to handle any dependability issues that might arise.
The drivers were free to compete, he emphasised that the only debates about regulating the pace were after the driveshaft issue became well known. Verstappen was encouraged by his team to compete for the fastest lap at the finish line, according to Horner. He said, “Well, I think we concluded that you know what, it’s the last lap. If he’s going to go, he’s going to go.”
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Horner further added that he felt he had already reached that conclusion on his own. He inquired as to what lap Checo had completed in the quickest time. So, it was pretty evident why he was asking. He was aware that Max would try his hand at it.
“As a team, it is their goal to get as many points as possible. So this message has to be effectively communicated to the driver, and as soon as any reliability issues surface it has to be solved. There was no reason for them to prevent either Max or Checo from trying for the quickest lap, as he admitted on the radio. Max Verstappen indicated the point for the fastest lap mattered a great deal to him”, Horner said.
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