"Destructive" Verstappen accused of stirring up "a bad smell" at Red Bull

Ewan Gale
Saturday 19 November 2022 05:00

Max Verstappen's decision to air internal issues over the team radio at the São Paulo Grand Prix was "a very destructive thing to do", according to Martin Brundle.

The Dutchman refused to allow team-mate Sergio Perez through at the end of the Interlagos race as Red Bull attempted to keep the Mexican ahead of Charles Leclerc in the drivers' standings.

The Ferrari driver is now level with Perez on points but ahead on countback of race wins. If nothing changes in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull will be denied its first championship one-two in F1.

The bad feeling has continued throughout the week, with rumours circulating over a potential deliberate crash by Perez in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, though those claims are unsubstantiated and have been flatly denied by the alleged culprit.

Verstappen has been non-committal on what the issue is, although did launch into an attack on the media and fans on social media.

With the vitriol lasting into the Abu Dhabi weekend and overshadowing what should be a celebration of Red Bull's dominance this season, Brundle told Sky Sports F1: "We can only assume that Max really wanted that out there and for it to be a big issue otherwise he would have said on the radio 'We will talk about it when I get back to the garage'.

"But he delivered that line, 'You know my reasons. We have talked about it' and of course, everybody else's job at that point is 'What might those reasons be?'.

"It was a very destructive thing to do. I don't think it played well for him and it certainly hasn't played well for the team.

"Now, of course, there are going to be a lot of questions asked to Sergio this weekend: 'Did you intentionally crash in Monaco?' That is a serious business.

"It has just stirred up a bad smell. It is surprising anyone would want to do that."