Hill warns Perez: 'The pressure from the Verstappens on Red Bull is huge'

The game is on in the British media. After some Sky Sports pundits commented on the rivalry within the Red Bull Racing team earlier on Wednesday, Damon Hill is also weighing in. The former World Champion thinks Max Verstappen and his father Jos will do everything internally to make the team's leadership work in their favour.

Hill indicated in an interview with Motorsport.com that Sergio Perez deserves every chance to go for the world title. However, the Brit believes that the Verstappen camp is trying to influence the team management to use all possible means in favour of the Dutchman. "The pressure from the Verstappens, including his father, on Red Bull is enormous," Hill said. "He is playing the card: 'I am your future, the team is shaped around me and he (Perez) will try to take advantage'."

Others couldn't handle pressure

In the interview, Hill cited that Verstappen has cracked down on previous teammates in similar ways. Young drivers like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon proved unable to cope with the pressure mounted by the Dutchman within the team, the Brit believes. Perez, in his eyes, is different from those youngsters. The Mexican is said to have a strong team around him, people who can protect him. Among others, Hill is referring to Julian Jakobi, who previously worked for Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

In any case, Hill gives Perez a warning: the Verstappens are not going to sit back and watch. According to him, the family does not like coming second and are going to do everything they can to avoid this in the future. "He seemed very unhappy with the way things were going," Hill analysed Jos Verstappen's facial expression after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, for example.