Sergio Perez wants Red Bull to review the communication given to him and his team mate after losing the fastest lap bonus point to his team mate at the end of the race.
The two Red Bull drivers ran first and second in the final laps of the race, with Perez leading. Both were given similar target lap times by their team but both also asked which driver had the fastest lap and was therefore set to score the bonus point.
Perez was told he had the fastest lap and did not make an effort to improve his time on the final lap. Verstappen was told what Perez’s time was and beat it on the last lap of the race. The extra point he took from his team mate proved crucial as it put him in the lead of the championship ahead of Perez.
Verstappen said it was “normal” for him to try to take the fastest lap point in those circumstances.
“With a few laps to go, I asked what the fastest lap was,” he said. “I think we were first of all free to race and of course we had a target lap time to the end.
“But there’s a point on the line, it was the same also in Bahrain it got asked. So especially when it’s just between the two cars I think it’s quite normal that you ask for what the fastest lap is.”
Perez said he was under the impression the pair had been told to maintain their pace over the final laps.
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“I asked two laps from the end what they were telling us,” he said. “They told me to keep a certain pace and they told me I had the fastest lap and to keep a certain pace.
“So I thought that communication was the same to Max. It’s something we need to review because I got certainly different information and I just couldn’t push there in the end.”
During the final laps Perez asked his team whether both driver were being told to manage their pace. He said he was concerned about potential reliability problems after Verstappen suffered a driveshaft failure in qualifying.
“Obviously they have more information than us,” he said. “I think the team did a fantastic job on letting us race. I just felt like there was a point where, I don’t know, for the last 10 laps or so that we had very similar pace, within a tenth faster or slower, and I just felt like the gap would have been probably a little bit less or a little more, but it wouldn’t have changed anything.
“I was just thinking about the car and just making sure. I was having some strange vibrations and obviously what happened to Max was on the back of my mind today and I’m sure it was on the back of the mind of the team as well. So it was just a matter of making sure both cars finished two to maximise points.”
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