F1 Fans Fume Over Red Bull's Max Verstappen And Sergio Perez Labels

A post on Oracle Red Bull Racing's social media profile on X has caught the attention of fans but in a negative way for being highly controversial. The post captioned, "The lion and the friendly dog" is an image of Max Verstappen on the left and Sergio Perez on the right.

Fans claim it suggests that Verstappen is the lion and Perez is the friendly dog. Considering the current season where the three-time world champion ended the year with the might of a lion, Perez was witnessed struggling for podium finishes with the same car, especially in the second half of the season.

Clearly not on form, Perez revealed how difficult it was to be Verstappen's teammate. He also came under fire from Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko. The whirlpool of challenges caused media factions to question his future in the team, despite his contract ending toward the end of next year. The 33-year-old driver even sought psychological help to deal with the pressure.

Consequently, the Red Bull driver's image in the public eye became that of an underdog struggling to perform and save his seat for the coming year. With an emotion like that, even a light-hearted post on social media can cause emotions to flare up.

However, the truth behind the post is that Perez attributed himself to a "friendly dog," when asked which animal he would like to be associated with. Verstappen relates himself to a lion, while Daniel Ricciardo is linked to the Honey Badger.

Here's the video where he reveals the same:

let me post the context before this gets out of control pic.twitter.com/ldXJIT9bMh
— iv (@farfromfilm) December 17, 2023

Of course, not all fans would be aware of the background of the post, and so, many went on to express their anger on the social media platform. Here are some noteworthy reactions:

I'm sure many would agree with him.

This isn't surprising.

Is Marko in charge of your tweets now?
— El Profesor - Danny Sánchez (@El_Profesor_eth) December 17, 2023

Well, that was unexpected.

Perez is being demoted to friendly dog 😂
— DANNYonPC (@DANNYonPC) December 17, 2023

This one's seen a lot of drama maybe.

RED BULL RACING X INTERN POSTING DURING THE WEEKEND: DRAMA INCOMING. MOTORSPORT DOT COM PRICED JOURNALIST AND MERCEDES SUPER FAN BOY JONATHAN NOBLE READY TO SPIN THIS INTO SOME KIND OF RACISME STORY.
— Shiningforce (@ShiningforceNL) December 17, 2023

If this isn't a sarcastic post, Perez might be laughing at it.

Y’all really just called your number 2 driver a dog? I would be so pi$$ed if I was @SChecoPerez right now. After all the work he did for Max and the team. 🤬🏎️
— Moral Tourism (@moraltourism) December 18, 2023