Button critical of Red Bull: 'Then why are they asking Verstappen?'

Jenson Button believes Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen did not speak clearly enough about team orders before the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix. According to the former Formula One driver, the incident creates negative marketing.

Calm was disrupted at Red Bull in Brazil when Verstappen refused to relinquish his position to Sergio Perez. The Dutchman was told by the team to let his teammate pass if he failed to overtake Fernando Alonso. Verstappen remained dead silent on the radio when he got the message from his team. After the finish, it became clear that Perez had finished behind his teammate. The two-time world champion angrily announced over the board radio that Red Bull should not ask him to give up his position. The situation would have been discussed beforehand.

Perez desperately needed the points for the battle in the drivers' championship. The Mexican driver is still fighting with Charles Leclerc for second position. Now he leaves for Abu Dhabi with an equal number of points.

'Red Bull have put themselves in this situation'

According to Button, the team did not clearly discuss the situation with Verstappen. "If they had discussed this beforehand as Max said, why are they asking him to do it in the race? It feels like they haven’t discussed it properly before the race weekend or before the race as a team," the world champion says on the programme Any Driven Monday on Sky Sports.

"That seems like the bigger issue. It seems Red Bull put themselves in this situation, which definitely is negative marketing. It’s a real shame because it could have been a perfect end to the race," says the Briton. Verstappen has promised that he will help his teammate in Abu Dhabi.