F1 Rumours: Did Sergio Perez deliberately crash during 2022 Monaco GP qualifying?

According to Tom Coronel from Viaplay, Max Verstappen's defiance of team orders in the Brazilian GP was because of Sergio Perez's 'deliberate' crash in qualifying in Monaco. Take this one with a pinch (or a bucket) of salt, though.

During the Brazilian GP on Sunday, Verstappen, recovering after an early race collision with Lewis Hamilton, was on fresh soft tyres behind Perez.

Both Red Bull drivers swapped places as they intended to pass Fernando Alonso. When Verstappen could not overtake Alonso, he was issued team orders to swap positions with Perez. The Dutchman, though, defied the orders and eventually finished ahead of Perez.

In their official Dutch broadcast, the Viaplay presenter Tom Coronel said that during the 2022 Monaco GP, Perez had deliberately crashed on his last lap in qualifying, which he reportedly admitted to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and team boss Christian Horner.

That was something Verstappen did not forget, so he refused to swap positions with Perez. In a tweet by The Telegraph's reporter, it was reported:

"It is correct what @TomCoronel just said at ViaPlay. Perez deliberately crashed in qualifying in Monaco and later admitted it to Helmut Marko and Christian Horner. Max Verstappen has not forgotten that."

Just to refresh our memories, during the Monaco GP earlier this year, Perez's crash on his last flying lap in qualifying meant the Red Bull driver qualified ahead of Verstappen. As a result, the Mexican got the preference in every strategic call and won the race, while Verstappen only finished third.

It must be noted that, other than Viaplay, which largely caters to a Dutch audience, no other media channel reported on the matter. Moreover, none the Red Bull personnel have made any comment on the same.

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Our verdict on rumors of Sergio Perez deliberately crashing in Monaco

The first thing we need to keep in mind when something like this is brought up is that it could be looked at as an attack on Sergio Perez's ntegrity. To add to it, if the report is true, it would a punishable offense, and the Mexican could even get a sporting penalty.

However, the claims just don't add up. There are far too many holes in this story. The first is the telemetry, which is the first thing the FIA stewards check when analysing a crash.

The second is the timing: This story came out the moment Verstappen defied team orders. The third is the kind of relationship the two drivers had before the Brazilian GP and the number of times Perez had to sacrifice race position to benefit Verstappen.

Unless more evidence comes to light, and there's any development on this front, it's safe to say that the story holds no weight whatsoever.