F1 Rumours: Is This The Reason Behind Max Verstappen's Brazil GP Controversy?

It's been rumoured that Perez's crash at Monaco is the reason behind why Max didn't let Perez pass him.

After yesterday's drama at the Brazilian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen refused to let teammate Sergio Perez pass him at the end of the race, it's now being rumoured that there's a definite reason as to why the Dutch driver didn't relieve his position.

Reports are hinting that during the Monaco Grand Prix, Perez's crash during qualifying was a strategic move to allow him to sit ahead of Verstappen on the starting grid, therefore giving him a much higher chance of receiving a win. Perez did indeed go on to win the Grand Prix, with Verstappen coming P3 behind Carlos Sainz. 

"I told you already last time," Verstappen said at the time when questioned by his race engineer. "Don't ask that again to me -- are we clear about that? I gave my reasons and I stand by it."

It's being reported that Verstappen's reasoning stems from Perez's crash at Monaco. It's also been rumoured that Checo had later confirmed this to Red Bull chief Christian Horner and Helmut Marko. 

Het klopt wat @TomCoronel zojuist zegt bij ViaPlay. Pérez is in Monaco opzettelijk gecrasht in kwalificatie en heeft dat later ook toegegeven tegenover Helmut Marko en Christian Horner. Dat is Max Verstappen niet vergeten. #F1

— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) November 13, 2022

Erik van Haren, a journalist for The Telegraph, confirmed the rumour that was started by ViaPlay's Tom Coronel, posting to Twitter: 

"Pérez deliberately crashed in Monaco in qualifying and later admitted as much to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner. Max Verstappen has not forgotten that."

In a post-race interview, Verstappen said the following about this altercation: 

“Well, I have my reasons for that. We just discussed that, and I think it was better that we finally sat together and spoke about it, and just moved forward from here.

“For sure, if we go to Abu Dhabi and he needs the points, because they’re tied, it’s not the end of the world, it’s all about who finishes ahead anyway. If he needs the help, I’ll be there.

“But it’s good that we talked about it now and basically cleared everything that was there why I didn’t do it.”

Sergio Perez now moves into the next and final race of the season on equal points to Charles Leclerc as they battle for second place in the Driver Standings. More news will follow.