“I don’t like to lose and neither does my father” - Max Verstappen defends Jos Verstappen’s apparent snub to Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen has defended his father Jos after the latter didn’t join Sergio Perez’s victory celebrations at the 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.

While Verstappen finished P2 in Jeddah, after starting 15th following a driveshaft failure in qualifying, Perez emerged victorious, making it a Red Bull 1-2 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

After the race, Jos was caught in an awkward moment when the Mexican driver was celebrating his win with his pit crew and team members. The senior Dutchman had a poker face while everyone around him was celebrating Perez's win.

Speaking to Dutch media in Melbourne, Max addressed the supposed uncordial relationship between his father and teammate, saying (via PlanetF1):

“Obviously, my father is my biggest fan. I don’t like to lose and neither does my father. That’s how we grew up, but they always show the wrong pictures, of course. Look: ‘Checo’ (Perez) gets out of the car and wants to celebrate with his mechanics, which is quite normal. But another father does not belong to that party, of course. Therefore my father did not get in there.”

He added:

“I think something like that is completely normal, even if some people don’t see it that way. But that’s OK, so those people just don’t see it that way. At the end of the day, we have to focus on ourselves and not on what the Twitter community thinks.”

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"We respect each other" - Sergio Perez addresses claims of Max Verstappen's father not supporting him

Sergio Perez has addressed reports of his relationship with Max Verstappen's father Jos, saying that he does not have any conflicts with his Red Bull Racing teammate's father. Speaking to the PA news agency, Perez said:

"I have a good relationship with Jos. We respect each other. We know this is sport, and that is how we treat it. We shook hands, but they probably didn’t show that. I saw a few things were written on social media, but sometimes people like to create stories that don’t exist. He wasn’t smiling much, but you don’t have to smile every day and all the time."

Max Verstappen is atop the driver standings after three races, winning twice.