In Brazil, Max Verstappen did not make himself popular by not letting his teammate Sergio Perez ahead. The two-time world champion said over the team radio that he had his reasons. In his column for F1.com looks back at the incident. He also looks at the almost similar situation that occurred with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, but turned out differently from Red Bull Racing.

Thus, the former driver says Ferrari was in a trickier position vis-à-vis Red Bull because Sainz seems to be in good form lately and this was also the case in Brazil. The Spaniard finished second in the sprint and secured a podium finish on Sunday, despite starting at the back of the grid after changing his engine. Ferrari ultimately felt it was too risky to change, as Leclerc also had Alonso and Verstappen behind him. Palmer thinks the situation would have been different if it was for fourth and fifth place. Because for fourth place you get nothing but pure points, exactly what Leclerc was after.

Hard to understand

The Briton continued: "For Max Verstappen on the other hand the situation was different and is harder to understand." Unlike Ferrari, Verstappen was requested by his team to give way to Perez, but that request was waved away. Also unlike Ferrari, Red Bull was not in such a great position with sixth and seventh places. Palmer called it "peanuts" for this year's world and constructors' champion, as it was precisely for Perez that the two extra points would have been worth a lot.

Verstappen ignored orders anyway and picked up his third-worst finish of the season. "For a man who has won more races in 2022 than any driver in history over a single campaign, and has the championship sewn up, this seemed like an odd decision", Palmer said.

Swallowing pride

The Dutch world champion has maintained that he has his reasons for not accommodating the team. In response, the Brit said that as a driver, you have to pick your battles and decide when it is better to swallow your pride and think about the bigger picture.

Finally, Palmer wonders to what extent Perez is willing to help Verstappen in the future. "And with a new season approaching, Mercedes gaining ground and Ferrari regrouping, not having a cooperative teammate may harm Verstappen’s chances."