"They were free to race"- Red Bull boss on team orders to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez before 2022 F1 Belgian GP

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stuck to his ground that both of his drivers were free to race at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. He completely dismissed all the implications and accusations that Red Bull used team orders to help Max Verstappen cruise past his teammate Sergio Perez.

Max Verstappen started P14 at the Belgium GP after earning pole position in qualifying because of an engine penalty. His teammate, Sergio Perez, started second and maintained that to earn a spot on the podium with Carlos Sainz next. Verstappen, being in DRS range from Perez before his pit stop, took the lead ahead of him to surpass Sainz later and easily cruised to another victory. It was one of his best performances.

After the race, Christian Horner was questioned regarding this, as there were doubts about how Verstappen overtook Perez so easily. However, Horner made it clear that there was no use of team orders at Spa. He revealed that it was specifically discussed during the pre-race briefing that the drivers were free to race.

"We discussed that [team orders] during the [pre-race] briefing - they were free to race"

“We expected that they might meet in the last stint and then they would be free to race each other, provided they were respected.”

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Red Bull expected to be not as dominant in 2022 Dutch GP

While some fear Red Bull's pace for the coming weekend, most are not as worried and are looking to strategize better to beat Red Bull.

Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on September 02, 2022 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Friday's Free Practice 1 turned out to be a difficult day for the team. They oddly didn't have as much pace, were way off actually. Max Verstappen had constant struggles with his gear box, while Sergio Perez was behind Leclerc's Ferrari by a whole second. They're currently just finding their feet between balance and pace and while they've got the pace, some work is still required to get a good grip and sort the tires out.

8th and 12th isn't the result they were expecting, but it is too soon to make conclusions for the race and underestimate the next world champion.