Christian Horner asserted that Max Verstappen will "fully support" Sergio Perez's push for second place in the championship after the Dutchman's refusal to let his teammate pass at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Mexican had allowed Verstappen past earlier in the race to try to chase down Fernando Alonso ahead of them. But on the final lap, after it became clear he would not be able to catch the Alpine, the champion was told by his team to give the place back to Perez.
But he refused, instead crossing the line sixth with the Mexican, who needs all the points he can get in the fight for second place in the standings, one place behind. The result means Perez is level on points with Charles Leclerc heading into the Abu Dhabi season finale.
"I have my reasons for that. We just discussed that," Verstappen told Sky Sports after the race. "I think that it was good that we just sat together and talked about it, so we can move forward from here.
"For sure, if we go to Abu Dhabi and he needs it – they are tied, you know, so it's not the end of the world, it's all about who finishes ahead anyway. If he needs the help, I'll be there, but it's good that we talk about it now and cleared everything that was there, on why we didn't do it."
Perez was almost speechless as he faced the TV cameras. He said: "I was told to let him by, and that I was going to get the position back. I don't know what the communications were with him on his side." When he was told that Verstappen had refused to give it back, he simply replied: "After all I've done for him, I'm disappointed, to be honest. I have no idea [why], I'm really surprised."
Over team radio while still in the car, Perez had made it clear that he was extremely unhappy with the lack of help from his team-mate. "Thank you for that guys, thank you," he told his team, before adding: "This shows who [Verstappen] really is."
Meanwhile, team boss Horner played down suggestions of a rift within the team. He said: "The drivers have obviously spoken about it – they're very, very clear – and for us, Checo is now tied on points with Charles as Ferrari didn't switch their cars around. We go into Abu Dhabi as a team to do the best we can for Checo to achieve second place, and Max will fully support that."
Asked if Verstappen had told him why he had refused the order, Horner made it clear he would not be revealing further details. "I'm not going to go into what we've discussed behind closed doors," he added. "The drivers have discussed it, shaken hands and we're absolutely focussed on the next race.
"We work as a team, race as a team. Our objective an priority is to see if we can get Checo to finish as runner-up in the championship. It's something we've never achieved as a team before, and Max has given his commitment as well that we'll be doing the best we can in Abu Dhabi to achieve that. It's a straight fight between Checo and Charles, and if Max can help in any way, he will do."
