Sergio Perez dismissed the claim he crashed on purpose in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.
The subject was brought up this week in the wake of Max Verstappen's refusal of team orders in Brazil. Red Bull asked the Dutchman to move aside for his team-mate on the final lap of the race, but he refused to allow the Mexican to move through.
Verstappen said after that he had already explained to the team why he would not be doing that, and pointed to an unspecified previous incident he was unhappy with. Reports this week have suggested that he was referring to qualifying at Monaco.
Perez' crash in that session scuppered Verstappen's attempt for pole position. It has been claimed the champion feels his team-mate did it on purpose, but the Mexican has moved to deny that suggestion.
"The rumour is wrong," he said in Abu Dhabi. "That is just speculation from the media out there and people creating rumours. We are all aware of what is going on in the team and we want to keep everything within the team.
"Everyone makes mistakes in Monaco and you can see – you have all the information and you can go and see it. Already, I nearly crashed into turn one and everyone makes mistakes in Monaco or in general places in qualifying. It is not like it was done on purpose."
Perez also made it clear there is no rift between himself and Verstappen, and that there were productive talks behind the scenes after their public disagreement. "We keep everything internal," he said.
"Whether it's Monaco or something else, that's up to Max to tell. I don't know how long he's been running something. We haven't talked about it substantively. Just everything there is in Brazil – that's where we as a team went through all the scenarios and the mistakes we made."
Verstappen has vowed to assist Perez in his fight for second place in the championship, in the wake of his snub in Brazil. "Of course, we want to win the race but if there's a chance to help Checo I will. That's why it was important we had this meeting now," said the runaway champion.
