Sergio Perez's deleted 'I want to be champion' tweet sparks Red Bull unrest rumours

Sergio Perez's recently deleted tweet has sparked reports once again that all is not well at Red Bull.

The Mexican won the second race of the season in Jeddah and did that despite having teammate Max Verstappen at touching distance from him in the second half of the race. Verstappen, not having enough pace to cut the gap on Perez, had to be content with P2.

The result brings Perez closer to the top of the championship standings. as the deficit is now only one point on his teammate Verstappen. However, what caught the eye of a few fans was what happened after the race when Perez tweeted:

"It was tougher than I thought, but in the end I'm happy to get my fifth victory in F1. Very happy with the result of the team. We are going to keep pushing very hard. I want to be champion."

What surprised everyone was that this tweet was subsequently deleted by the Red Bull driver and reposted again, with the phrase 'I want to be champion' missing.

That has once again sparked rumours of a possible rift at Red Bull as Perez emerges as a possible challenger. Whether there's any veracity in the claims will become clear in the next few races, but Perez's reposted tweet has certainly turned a few heads.

Perez had a stunning weekend at the Saudi Arabian GP last weekend, making the most of the opportunity with Verstappen having reliability issues. Looking back at the race, Perez told the media, including Sportskeeda:

"I had a wicked race - which is a new word I learnt this week! I didn't have a great start, but after I got back around Fernando. I was able to create a good gap between the rest of the field and me. ... until the safety car came out, and I was reminded of Jeddah 2022. ... It was a new race after the safety car, though ,and I'm happy I was able to build a gap again and then keep it, even when Max was pushing at the end."

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Sergio Perez thanks Red Bull for great weekend

Sergio Perez thanked the team for the car that has been built this season. He wants to keep the focus, as it's going to be a long season:

"Everyone back in Milton Keynes and here at the track has built such a fantastic car for us this season. I love being a part of this team because of the way we push and the way we deliver, I'm so proud of us. The team is working at such a high level, so it's really great to be a part of. In the end, we must remember it's a long season, but tonight was a massive team result."

It will be interesting to see if there is any level of tension between the two Red Bull drivers in the upcoming races, as the championship is at stake.