Verstappen dangles a carrot for Perez to force mistakes — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull

Verstappen says Red Bull DON'T NEED Perez after latest failure

The fiery quotes from the world champion came after Perez failed to make it out of Q1 once again

Chris Deeley

Sunday 9 July 2023 10:28

Max Verstappen has appeared to dismiss his team-mate's contribution to Red Bull's constructors' championship lead, claiming he could win the team award 'by himself'.

The Dutchman made the claim after Sergio Perez failed to qualify in the top 10 for an incredible fifth race in a row. Even more incredibly, as things stand, Verstappen looks like he's right.

While Red Bull's 199-point lead would inevitably be cut without Perez's points, Verstappen's 229 points on the season would indeed put him a full 51 points ahead of second-placed Mercedes.

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Perez, for his part, would sit fourth behind Mercedes, Aston Martin and Ferrari.

Verstappen: Q3 should be the bare minimum

Verstappen also admitted that the bare minimum expectation for someone in a car as dominant as this season's Red Bull should be an appearance in the final part of qualifying, something Perez has failed to do since the Miami Grand Prix more than two months ago.

"Of course I don't know where things went wrong today, but with this car you normally have to end up in Q3," Verstappen told media including GPFans after qualifying.

"Of course we are also fighting for the constructors' championship, but I think I can win that on my own at the moment," he continued with a grin.

Verstappen is the heavy favourite to win his sixth race in a row on Sunday, which would be the longest run of consecutive wins in his decorated career so far.