10 July 2023 , 13:31
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Max Verstappen took a swipe at Sergio Perez after the Mexican's latest qualifying blunder at Silverstone.
He went out of Saturday's session in Q1, making it the fifth race weekend in a row that he failed to qualify in the top 10. In the race, he made up enough places to score eight points for Red Bull by finishing sixth.
While those points will contribute to Red Bull's seemingly inevitable title success, sixth is rarely seen as a good result for a driver in the quickest car on the grid.
Verstappen said as much after qualifying on pole for the British Grand Prix and made a cutting remark about his team-mate.
"Of course, I don't know where things went wrong today, but with this car you normally have to end up in Q3," he told reporters. "We are also fighting for the constructors' championship, but I think I can win that on my own at the moment."
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Perez sits second in the championship despite his dip in form. However, he is only 19 points ahead of Fernando Alonso behind him, while Lewis Hamilton is closing in on both of them.
In contrast, championship leader Verstappen is 99 points clear of his team-mate after just 10 races, with any chance of a title fight between them now seemingly off the table. The Dutchman has more points on his own than any other team on the grid has collectively this year.
Daniel Ricciardo is back-up to Verstappen and Perez this year (Getty Images)The contrast between them has put pressure on Perez and sparked speculation about his future. His contract expires at the end of 2024 but, with the experienced Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings, some have suggested Red Bull might pull the trigger before then.
Verstappen said: "I don't talk about that," when asked about the rumours suggesting Ricciardo could replace Perez, but was happy to heap praise upon his Aussie former team-mate.
The Dutchman opined: "Daniel is doing a good job in the simulator, which doesn't surprise me either, because he hasn't lost his talent. I think he's comfortable with us. He listens a lot and asks a lot. I know Daniel very well, so we can talk about a lot of things."
Christian Horner has made his plans for Ricciardo's Red Bull future clear (Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)Ricciardo will drive the Red Bull car at Silverstone this week as he takes part in a tyre test. Even though team principal Christian Horner will be keeping a close eye on how the Aussie gets on, he made it clear that he does not anticipate there to be a path for him to race again for the team on a full-time basis.
Horner said: "It's not something that we're planning, that's for certain. It was right to give him the opportunity this year to remain within the team and keep him around the sport.
"I think it would have been a loss to the sport for him just to disappear and, I think, I didn't recognise the Daniel of the last couple of years so I'll be very interested to see what kind of job he does on Tuesday."