Theories and conspiracies are regularly a part of F1. The aim eventually is to win the race or the title, which is why people sometimes take extreme measures to triumph. According to certain media, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez admitted to crashing deliberately at the 2022 Monaco GP weekend to preserve his P3 finish in qualifying from Max Verstappen.

It feels like a long shot that Sergio Perez would go to the lengths to fight his teammate, Max Verstappen. However, after yesterday’s debacle, Verstappen was adamant about not letting Perez through due to his “reasons” and many have predicted this to be it. Moreover, if Perez did crash purposely, could we be seeing a repeat of the Crashgate fiasco?

Here’s what happened in the Crashgate scandal. Nelson Piquet Jr. was accused by Renault F1 of “false allegations” and “attempts to blackmail the team” following events at the 2008 Singapore GP. Nelson Piquet Jr was ordered to crash purposely to assist his teammate, Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard ultimately went on to win the race.

The saga first erupted when Nelson Piquet Jr. was released midway through the 2009 season due to ‘poor performance’. This is the same time when the Crashgate allegations first appeared and Renault filed their case against Piquet. The French constructors claimed that the Brazilian and his father falsely accused them of the crash.

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Furthermore, Renault also claimed that Piquet blackmailed them in an attempt to keep his race seat on the team. Eventually, the FIA found Renault guilty of race fixing. Renault also issued a formal apology and awarded Nelson Piquet and his son substantial compensation.

Are Sergio Perez and Crashgate scandal comparable? If so, will Red Bull get penalized like Renault?

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez shocked the world with their public spat on the radio in the Brazilian GP. From the outside, everything looked nice and bubbly in the Red Bull camp. However, it now seems tensions were soaring in the Red Bull camp after Verstappen denied giving Sergio Perez his position in Interlagos.

Sky commentators felt that Max Verstappen was still holding a grudge at the Mexican. Back in October, the Dutchman didn’t get the chance to get a final flying lap in Monaco after Perez crashed in qualifying, bringing out the red flag. Checo eventually started the race ahead of Max and eventually won the race. This surely wasn’t ideal for the Dutchman.

Moreover, F1 journalist and podcaster Erik van Heren wrote on his Twitter, “It is correct what @TomCoronel just said at ViaPlay. Perez deliberately crashed in qualifying in Monaco and later admitted it to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner. Max Verstappen has not forgotten that.” [Translated using Google]

However, unlike Renault, Red Bull might not get penalized because, at this point in time, there is no proof of them fixing things. Furthermore, as of now, all of it is just rumors and allegations. If the FIA decide to investigate the matter, it is unlikely that they will penalize the Austrian constructors, as Renault was penalized back in the day.

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It will be interesting to see if a case builds against Sergio Perez in the future. However, the possibility of the same still seems far-fetched. Either the case will be swept under the rug, or it could be something worse than one of F1’s darkest moments – The Spygate saga. Do you think Sergio Perez is guilty of wrecking Max Verstappen’s race in Monaco?