Verstappen’s Father Rips Red Bull for Prioritizing Perez in Monaco

IMAGO / HochZwei

Jos Verstappen, the father of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, did not hold back when critiquing Red Bull’s strategy during the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend. 

Teammate Sergio Pérez won the coveted race while Max came in third, sandwiched by Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Jos, though, feels Pérez was wrongly prioritized over his son. 

“Red Bull achieved a good result, but at the same time exerted little influence to help Max to the front. That he finished third, he owes to Ferrari’s mistake at that second stop of Charles Leclerc,” Jos wrote in a blog post on Verstappen.com. “The championship leader, Max, was not helped in that sense by the chosen strategy. It turned completely to Checo’s favour. That was disappointing to me, and I would have liked it to be different for the championship leader.”

Red Bull opted to pit Pérez first, switching him to intermediates. It allowed him to undercut both Leclerc and Sainz, and while Verstappen later followed suit, he was simply too far from Sainz until the end. 

Verstappen still holds the lead on the driver’s standings, but he is now just 15 points ahead of his teammate, who signed a contract extension this week. 

“Pérez actually won the race because of the earlier pit stop,” Jos wrote. “The team can perhaps explain that as a gamble, but they had already seen, with for example Gasly, that the intermediates were the best option at that time.

“I would have liked them to go for Max, but of course I am not entirely objective. I think ten points from Max have been thrown away here. Especially with the two retirements we’ve had, we need every point. Don’t forget that Ferrari currently has a better car, especially in qualifying.” 

The father, who made more than 100 F1 starts between 1994 and 2003, also criticized the car, saying it does not suit his son’s driving style. 

“Max’s third place was very disappointing. We all saw that it was a difficult weekend for him. It starts with the car, which simply doesn’t have the characteristics for his driving style yet. Max has far too little grip at the front axle. And especially in Monaco, with all those short corners, you need a car that turns very quickly. That was just hard.”