Verstappen praises Perez: "He's a great teammate"

Max Verstappen has mixed feelings about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. What could have been an easy victory ended in tears. However, he was happy to see his teammate Sergio Perez win the race, and has nothing but praise for the Mexican.

Asked about his feelings about the race, Verstappen replied at the F1 Post-Race Show: "Of course it's very frustrating and disappointing to have a blowout so short before the finish. Sometimes I hate the sport, but only for a couple of hours and then it's okay again."

"Up until that point it was a great day, the car was top notch and I was driving comfortably in the lead. It could have been an easy win, but of course there are no guarantees in sport," continued the Dutchman. "At the end we were still lucky that Lewis shot straight, so we still lead the championship, but this is not what I wanted."

Yet he also sees the positives. "It should have been a 1-2, that would have been great for the team. But Checo still won the race in the end, and I'm very happy for him. It was really nice to see him win the race. He's a great teammate, and he had a top day today. He did everything he had to do, which was nice to see," concluded Verstappen.