Red Bull used 'questionable tactics' against Sergio Perez, claims legendary F1 boss

Verstappen talking to Perez during the Belgian GP weekend — Photo: © LAT Images

Sergio Perez

Red Bull used 'questionable tactics' against Perez, claims legendary F1 boss

The Mexican driver came into the pits behind his team-mate despite leading part of the race

Lauren Sneath

Friday 1 September 2023 08:57

Giancarlo Minardi has suggested that the tactics used by Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix were ‘questionable’ when it came to Sergio Perez.

The Mexican ended up in fourth place as his team-mate Max Verstappen won yet again, having earlier led the race.

During the race, the decision was made to pit Verstappen first, and the Dutchman later undercut his team mate, eventually taking the race lead.

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Red Bull Christian Horner later insisted that this was the only way the team could defend their positions. As quoted by The Athletic, he said: “We’d have gone from a net 1-2 to a net 1-4. So we pitted Max first with the risk being that he undercut Checo, but we’d end up as a team first and second.”

But Minardi felt the decision was ‘questionable’ after Perez was left limping home in fourth place.

The former team owner said on his official website: "After a three-week summer break, Red Bull and Verstappen confirmed that they are unbeatable in all track conditions.

“Once again, Max won his home race without making the slightest mistake, again ahead of his team-mate after Red Bull adopted some questionable tactics.”

Minardi: a great fight from Alonso

Minardi was, however, impressed by Fernando Alonso’s showing at the race. The Spaniard fought hard and made intelligent race decisions to come in second place.

The former team owner explained: "We also saw an excellent performance from Alonso, who returned to the podium with a good second place.

“In the final laps, he tried to scare the leader and when necessary, he put on a good show. In any case, he can be satisfied with the result and the fastest lap.

“Without Max, we would be witnessing a great fight for the world championship with a lot of exchanges between the drivers.”