Sergio Perez labelled ‘nonsense’ over Verstappen Red...read more

Sergio Perez labelled ‘nonsense’ over Verstappen Red Bull remarks

Sergio Perez’s recent comments about his time at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen have been strongly criticised by a prominent Formula 1 insider.

Now set to return to the grid with Cadillac, the Mexican driver reflected on his Red Bull stint during an appearance on the Crack Podcast, where he spoke candidly about the difficulties of being Verstappen’s team-mate. Perez described the role as one of the “worst jobs in Formula 1” and suggested that the team reacted negatively whenever he appeared quicker than the Dutchman.

According to Perez, outperforming Verstappen created internal tension, reinforcing his belief that Red Bull was firmly structured around its star driver.

However, former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor has rejected those claims outright, showing little sympathy for Perez’s perspective.

Speaking on the F1 Hour, Windsor said he believed Perez was portraying himself unfairly as a victim. He argued there was no real substance to the accusations, adding that a truly elite driver in the second Red Bull seat would have been capable of matching Verstappen closely.

Windsor suggested that a driver of Charles Leclerc’s calibre could have achieved significant success at Red Bull over the past five or six seasons and may even have challenged Verstappen for a world title. While acknowledging Verstappen’s current superiority, he insisted that a top-level team-mate would naturally have been competitive.

He concluded by noting that Red Bull have rarely paired Verstappen with a proven elite driver, aside from Daniel Ricciardo’s brief spell, and that this — rather than team bias — explains the performance gap Perez experienced.