Sergio Perez targets media for creating fictional rivalry with Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez has clapped back at the media for creating a fictional rivalry between him and his teammate Max Verstappen. Throughout the season, there have been a few reports of conflict between the two drivers. It was made worse by what Helmut Marko said about the Mexican earlier in the season.
As a result, Max Verstappen was a surprise recipient of boos at the 2023 F1 US GP when he won the race. By the looks of it, he was booed by the Mexcian crowd that cheered Sergio Perez as well. Coming to the race this weekend, there have been reports of some Mexican fans planning to prevent Max from having access to the track.
All of this comes at a time when the event organizer is running a campaign about respecting each driver on the grid. When Sergio Perez was questioned about this, the Mexican was quick to point out that reports of a rift with Max Verstappen were created by the media. As quoted by PlanetF1, he said:
“No, not at all. And I think it’s important that we give this message because I think media likes to create this sort of rivalry outside the track and I think we are a great sport. We are a great example for a lot of young generations and we should just be focused on the sport side."
He added:
“And whatever happens on track should always stay there and that’s the best message we, as a country, want to give to the rest of the world. And yeah, there is nothing else going on. The most important thing is that everything stays on track.”
Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez want to win!
Emphasizing that drivers can be rivals on track and not let it affect them off it, Sergio Perez said that even he and Max Verstappen both want to win on the track but you don't let it spill off the track.
He said:
“Well, I think obviously, we are all rivals but at the same time we are all sports athletes, and we all want to do the best for ourselves. Max and myself, we are in the same team so we both want to win and we are all giving our best so I don’t think that there should be any rivalry."
He added:
"For example, if I’m fighting in the race with Fernando, he’s not my rival out of the track, it’s just that we are just fighting on track. But like I say, the media likes to create this rivalry out of the track which I don’t think is right and it’s important for the fans to understand that.”
It's been a bit of a surprise to see Max Verstappen getting booed by Sergio Perez fans but for sure that's not the first or the last time it has happened.