Verstappen disturbed the peace at Red Bull in Brazil when he refused to give up his seat to teammate Sergio Perez as requested, Red Bull prioritizing Perez in trying to help him secure P2 in the Drivers’ Championship, while Verstappen had secure the title in Japan. Usually one to play the supporting role, Perez was none too pleased with his team-mate, who he felt had shown his true colours. Perez now goes into the final race in Abu Dhabi level on points with Charles Leclerc, who leads by virtue of having won more races this season. Verstappen told Red Bull he had already made it clear to them his reasons for not letting Perez through, although Button’s take on the situation is that this had not been clearly discussed – and now the team is left with “negative marketing ” to deal with me. “If they had discussed it beforehand like Max said, why are they asking him to do it in the match?” Button was asked on Sky Sports F1’s ‘Any Driven Monday’. “So it seems they haven’t discussed it properly before the race weekend or before the race as a team. “And that seems like the biggest issue – it seems like Red Bull got themselves into this situation, which is definitely negative marketing. “So it’s a real shame because he could have come out of it…it could have been a perfect end to the fight. The mistake in the earlier part of the fight with Lewis [Hamilton]whoever was at fault, it was an incident we did not want to see. “But to come out and say ‘here, Czecho, here are some points, now you’re second in the championship, we’re going to finish first and second, that’s awesome’, but that story is not the story. we have this moment.” It was then put to Button that this ruthless side of Verstappen is a key ingredient in making him as good and intimidating as he is. Button agreed, comparing the situation to when Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were team-mates at Red Bull, with Vettel not always willing to follow Red Bull’s orders – in a similar way to what Verstappen showed in Sao Paulo. ‘Multi 21’ immediately comes to mind. However, Button noted that after such a dominant season from Verstappen, Sao Paulo is now the race that will probably be remembered more than the rest. “Vettel was exactly the same at Red Bull,” said Button. “When Mark [Webber] he was teammates with Vettel, he was told to let him pass, sometimes he did and helped the team out. “And then when he was asked by Vettel, he didn’t do it, so it’s not the first time it’s happened and we’ve forgiven Sebastian Vettel… he’s a great man, one of the nicest men in the paddock, isn’t he now? “That’s what it is and I totally agree, it’s Max Verstappen’s make-up. I think he’s a good person, I really do, it’s just in the heat of the moment, that adrenaline and that excitement, you’re not always going to make the right decision. “He had such a fantastic year, he walked away with this championship and he didn’t make any mistakes. We all make mistakes and he has made some in the past, but this year he was so strong and did a great job, with a lot of confidence in himself and the team. “And then comes this race, and that’s the one we’ll probably remember.” Read next – Max Verstappen told Red Bull who’s the boss, but was he like a boss?
