No sympathy for Verstappen's action: 'Perez has already helped him so much'

There is much misunderstanding in the Formula 1 paddock over Max Verstappen's behaviour in the closing stages of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Dutchman refused team orders from Red Bull Racing to pass Sergio Perez for sixth position. Jacques Villeneuve understands little about Verstappen's reaction.

Perez and Verstappen have been a good team from the start. The Mexican driver has helped his teammate on several occasions, think Abu Dhabi 2021 where Perez held up Lewis Hamilton for a long time or the races in which he snatched the fastest race lap from the Briton in Verstappen's favour.

In Brazil, Perez once needed the help of his teammate. The Mexican is still fighting for second place in the drivers' championship with Charles Leclerc. Verstappen was allowed to pass Perez during the race to try an overtaking move on Fernando Alonso. However, the Dutchman did not manage this, whereupon Red Bull asked him to hand the position back to Perez. In the end, Verstappen still crossed the line in sixth place, with Perez on P7.

The Mexican now heads to Abu Dhabi with 290 points, the same number as Leclerc. Villeneuve finds it incomprehensible that Verstappen was being difficult about sixth position when he himself already has the world title in his pocket. "I cannot understand Verstappen's reaction. Why is he being difficult about spot six or seven? It doesn't change anything for him, for Pérez as well as the team it does make a difference and he has helped him so much in the past," writes the world champion in his column for Formule1.nl.