“Lies, lies, lies”: Sergio Perez’s father denies reports of rift between Max Verstappen and Checo at Red Bull

Sergio Perez's father Antonio Perez Garibay has rubbished all reports claiming there is a rift in the Red Bull camp between his son and reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Tensions appeared to be high within the Red Bull structure after Sergio Perez claimed his first win of the season at the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP, ahead of Max Verstappen, who started in P15 but clawed his way up the order to finish in P2.

Perez was heard questioning his engineer's decision to put in slower lap times in the latter stages of the race. The decision allowed Verstappen to bridge the gap to the Mexican and even take away the extra point on offer for the fastest lap of the race just as he took the checkered flag.

Speculation of fault lines existing between the two drivers was further accentuated when Perez struggled with a braking issue during the Australian GP weekend, something that saw the 33-year-old get eliminated in the first phase of qualifying at Albert Park.

When insinuated in an interview that his son's RB19 may have been sabotaged to not interfere with Max Verstappen's charge for pole position, Antonio Perez Garibay dismissed the notion outright. He said:

"Lies lies, lies. That's a lie, let's be clear. Red Bull is a brand that costs many billions of dollars above Checo (Sergio Perez) and Max (Verstappen). It is a professional team that wants to win with its two drivers, they want to have lap one from practice one and they want their two drivers to be one and two."

He added:

"There is no favoritism for anyone, it's all speculation. Red Bull has the two best tigers in the same cage, if they weren't at the same level, what's going on wouldn't be there. Hopefully, more teams and drivers will join the championship. The fight won't just be between Checo and Max.”

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"There is a very high level of respect between each other" - Sergio Perez on him and Max Verstappen being 'mature enough' as Red Bull teammates

Sergio Perez has reiterated that he and Max Verstappen have plenty of mutual respect for each other in the Red Bull garage. He also claimed that both drivers are 'mature enough' to differentiate between right and wrong on and off the track.

After headlines made rounds about the two Red Bull drivers not being on the same page following the team's dominant start to 2023, Perez clarified the situation in an interview, where he said:

"Inside it is a great atmosphere with the team. There is a very high level of respect between each other in the team with all the engineers from their side or my side. I think we are both mature enough to know what's right and what's wrong. As long as that keeps being the case, then I don't expect anything to change."

Sergio Perez is currently in the final year of his contract with Red Bull with no talk of an extension just yet. It would serve him well to keep the peace with Max Verstappen and not rock the boat if he wishes to continue racing for Christian Horner's side, considering that the Dutchman is expected to stay with the time till at least 2028, per his current deal.