Rumors surfaced that the Mexican driver purposefully crashed during qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
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Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez refuted the rumors that he purposefully crashed during this year’s Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session.
Speculation arose after the São Paulo Grand Prix radio row when Dutch media said the race in Monaco was why Max Verstappen refused team orders to swap places back with Pérez. Red Bull released a statement Thursday explaining that mistakes were made in handling last weekend’s race in Brazil, saying, in part, “We had not envisaged the situation that unfolded on the last lap and we had not agreed a strategy for such a scenario before the race.”
Verstappen has not publicly said why he refused the team order, but Pérez denied the Monaco rumors.
“That's speculation from the media out there and creating rumors,” the Mexican driver said, per ESPN, Thursday ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. “As I said, we are all aware of what is going on within the team and we want to keep everything within the team. That rumor is wrong.”
Back in May, Pérez explained what caused him to lose the rear of his car, saying his tires not being up to the right temperature triggered the crash. He said at the time that he also “nearly lost it already into Turn 1” in Monaco, sometime he reiterated on Thursday.
Red Bull said in its statement that Verstappen “spoke openly and honestly, allowing for both drivers to resolve any outstanding issues or concerns” after the race in Brazil. Pérez denied Thursday that Monaco was part of the post-race discussions but reiterated that what was discussed would stay internally when asked whether Verstappen thought he deliberately crashed.
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