The Formula 1 has landed in Brazil for the dispute of the 21st round of the 2023 season with few pending issues. The São Paulo GP will be the first of the final three races, which will continue in Las Vegas and end in Abu Dhabi. With the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships defined for a good while now, only the runners-up remain to be known. Among the teams, the battle is between Mercedes (371 points) and Ferrari (349). And in the drivers' category, the fight is between Checo Pérez (240) and Lewis Hamilton (220).
The Interlagos circuit holds remnants of 2022, when the Mexican arrived in a similar situation, fighting for second place in the championship, on that occasion with Charles Leclerc. In a disastrous weekend for Red Bull, Max Verstappen was in sixth position, with Checo right behind. Those two points that separate them in the standings were valuable for Pérez and, given the circumstances, the request came over the radio from the energy drink team: he had to let his teammate pass. The response was categorical: "No. And don't ask me to do it again, I've already given my reasons not to."
FORMULA 1 STANDINGS
Finally, the Monegasque from Ferrari secured the runner-up in Abu Dhabi and, from the depths of the Austrian team, they assured that the clash between their drivers had been resolved. But...
Almost like a remake, Brazil once again has Checo fighting for the runner-up in 2023, this time with Lewis Hamilton, who arrives at one of his favorite tracks with a 20-point disadvantage to the Red Bull driver. For the Mexican, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain his position in the championship and the numbers speak for themselves. Pérez has only scored 21 points in the last five races, compared to the 40 points the seven-time champion has scored. And that's without considering that the Mercedes driver lost the 18 points he had obtained in Austin due to the technical exclusion of his FW14, a situation that allowed Checo to earn two more points by moving up a position.
Given the close battle for the runner-up and, especially with the memory of Brazil 2022 still fresh, Verstappen was asked during the press conference if he would help Pérez. "I think at the end of the day, it shouldn't be up to me to get him the points," he responded with a clear message. And he added, "I trust that Checo can stay ahead (of Lewis) because I think on average we have the fastest car."
When reminded of last year's Brazilian incident, the champion said, "I don't think there was much talk about it before going into the race weekend last year either. But yes, let's hope we don't reach that situation. I think it's better for everyone."