“Checo is a legend,” said Max Verstappen when Sergio Perez held off Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, in 2021. Perez played a key role in the first title that came Max’s way. Hamilton was in a good lead when Perez was kept out for a longer stint and the defense that he showcased that day will be remembered for generations to come. However, the favor wasn’t repaid to the Mexican at Interlagos. And this year, he arrived with his own championship dreams. Red Bull now has both its driver in the top 2 of the WDC and this has made the season more interesting. But will RB let Checo get away with it?
The Bahrain curtain raiser comfortably went Verstappen’s way and there was no surprise there. However, due to the Dutchman’s unfortunate incident in qualifying, the burden of bringing that victory to Red Bull lay with Checo and the king of street circuits stepped in and how. While the reigning champion did take away the fastest lap from underneath him, the duo’s point tally saw a difference of only one point. But the upcoming race wasn’t going to be a smooth one either.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Fans want Red Bull to execute fair play between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
The unfortunate qualifying now shifted base and came to the 33-year-old as his crash in Albert Park meant he started from the pitlane. But the Adrian Newey wonder never fails as the man-made up 14 places in the messy race. However, finishing outside podium contention did prove to b a bit of a dent. And now, with Verstappen at 69 points and Checo at 54, the head-to-head battle is set to unfold at home. However, the question remains if Milton Keynes will let the duo battle it out. F1 fans are not so sure about it.
Three down, just… 20 rounds to go!
Who's finishing the season in front at Red Bull?#F1 @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/hCxc6aq9wN
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 7, 2023
The official account of Formula 1 always intends to maintain the spice and excitement amongst F1 fans. With a three-week-long break till the onset of the European leg of the F1 calendar, this time they have tried to recreate a Nico Rosberg versus Hamilton kind of situation as the two men from Milton Keynes lead the field. Let us look at some Instagram comments:
“Red Bull won‘t let checo win”
“Checo drives a car that was built around max and max’s talent is really his car.”
“All depends on redbull integrity”
“Max because Helmut doesn’t like anybody else”
“Checo if redbull support him like they should”
“Checo will never be able to beat Max. The only one who can properly beat Max is Jos Verstappen.”
And F1 Twitter wasn’t far behind in criticizing Red Bull.
The more interesting question is until when is Red Bull gonna let them race. I'm betting that Checo will be getting team orders starting from Miami even if Max is 10 points ahead
— Diego A. Díaz (@dadiazh) April 7, 2023
We need fair play! @redbullracing is not honest, we saw exactly what Red Bull did against Perez.
— Maycol Uribe Romero (@uriberma) April 7, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Why is this even a question team orders still exist right Danny ric has a better chance at winning at rb rn and Perez would prolly win if they had the same car and no team orders
— Josh Mehta (@mehtajosh2007) April 7, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Watch This Story: Ricciardo Redemption, Frozen Bottas- Dramatic F1 Moments in Monaco GP History
In this battle at Milton Keynes, who do you think comes out at the top? Who is it that you are rooting for?