Red Bull teamwork behind Abu Dhabi front row – Perez

Sergio Perez says teamwork is key to Red Bull’s lock for the front row at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, just a week after he and Max Verstappen’s dispute in Brazil.

Verstappen refused to give Perez a place at the end of the final race at Interlagos, with Red Bull saying the driver was put in an unfair position by making the request on the final lap and not discussing it before. Verstappen, however, insisted he would help his team-mate if Abu Dhabi needed him – where he is seeking second place in the drivers’ championship – and duly dragged Perez in his final race.

“It was a good meeting,” Perez said. “It looked a lot better after the second quarter, then the third quarter – it didn’t start well, especially the first run wasn’t great. Then the second round was much better. But, not enough to get pole.

“However, I think it’s a good result for the team to be in the front row, especially after we came back from Sao Paulo at the weekend, where we struggled for a long time. It’s nice to be back.

“(Trailer) really did (help). I think we played really well together as a team today. I can feel, especially in the second division, that it’s working. What you get, you lose in the third zone A little bit, but overall I think it’s definitely a positive thing.”

Perez said he enjoyed fighting for points when he started the final race with Charles Leclerc on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” he said. “I do want them to be strong. So it’s going to be a close fight with Charles, so it’s going to be an interesting fight tomorrow…very exciting. It’s great to be fighting for something in the last game Okay, so that’s good.”

Verstappen, who took pole despite a late start to the third quarter, said the problem derailed Perez’s plans to help in both races.

“Going into the weekend, we let Checo choose his preferred option: Do you want to go first or go later?” Verstappen said. “He chose to go behind, which was also the plan for qualifying, but I also planned to lead in the first round, but my engine… yeah, everything shut down. But luckily we were in the second round. Just put it together.”