Former driver shreds Red Bull's 'dirty trick'

2 years ago 655

A erstwhile Formula One operator has accused Red Bull of "using each soiled trick" to forestall Lewis Hamilton winning the satellite rubric during yesterday's arguable Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen claimed his archetypal title aft passing Hamilton connected the last thigh of the race, pursuing a contentious restart.

Mercedes has flagged its volition to entreaty the result, arguing the information car was withdrawn incorrectly.

But Sebastian Bourdais, who drove for Red Bull's inferior squad erstwhile it was known arsenic Toro Rosso, has highlighted an earlier incidental successful the race, which helium says showed "zero sportsmanship".

That occurred connected thigh 20, erstwhile Hamilton, who had stopped for tyres, came up to walk Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who had not pitted.

Aussie authoritative nether occurrence implicit F1 rubric finish

Perez was starring the race, with Hamilton 2nd and Verstappen third, 8 seconds adrift of the Mercedes.

As Hamilton passed Perez connected the backmost straight, the Mexican operator re-passed Hamilton and held him up for different lap, allowing Verstappen to adjacent to wrong 2 seconds of his rubric rival.

"That's precisely what we expected to happen," Martin Brundle said connected Sky Sports.

"Great squad play."

Hamilton saw things differently, complaining connected the squad vigor astir Perez.

"That's immoderate unsafe driving," helium said.

As soon arsenic Hamilton passed Perez for good, the Red Bull operator moved implicit to fto Verstappen by, and past headed for the pits.

"Checo is simply a legend," Verstappen said to his team.

Bourdais, who won 4 consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004-07, took objection to a societal media station from F1 writer Will Buxton, who praised "an unthinkable portion of antiaircraft driving from Perez".

"I thought you loved racing, that was BS," Bourdais wrote.

"I can't statesman to recognize however Perez tin beryllium blessed with himself and however radical applaud him for what helium did.

"Purposely slowing down and utilizing each soiled instrumentality to impede Hamilton.

"Zero sportsmanship, from the full squad really."

Perez's driving was perfectly legal, fixed helium was battling Hamilton for the pb of the contention astatine the time, adjacent though helium was yet to pit.

The play prompted an speech connected the vigor betwixt Mercedes brag Toto Wolff and contention manager Michael Masi, with Wolff asking the Australian to propulsion Red Bull into line.

"Michael, it's a spot dangerous, tin you pass them?" Wolff said.

"So acold they're racing, Toto, hard racing," was the effect from Masi.

Verstappen tweeted his enactment for Perez aft the race, describing him arsenic "an animal".

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