Former Formula 1 team boss Eddie Jordan has claimed that Max Verstappen “put pressure” on his Red Bull team to retain team-mate Sergio Perez instead of signing Carlos Sainz.
Perez’s future is uncertain after a disappointing campaign, in which he finished eighth in the Drivers’ standings, a whopping 285 points behind his Dutch counterpart, who claimed his fourth world title.
Despite the lack of domination from the Red Bull car this year, the vast gulf between its two drivers set many tongues wagging in the paddock, particularly when it was announced that Perez would stay with the team, signing a contract extension midway through the season.
But Jordan, speaking on the Formula For Success podcast, believes that Verstappen influenced the decision to keep Perez on board, despite the availability of Carlos Sainz, who found himself without a drive after being replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
“I’m embarrassed for Checo, because I like the guy. He’s a smashing person to be with,” Jordan said.
“But are you telling me he’s angling and fighting for a place in the team for next year? I would say that it’s not a chance, but I put some blame on the team and I put some blame on Max.
“I know that Max put pressure on Christian. He did not want Carlos Sainz in the car. He wanted Checo in the car, because he knew he could beat him.
“And to be fair, Max has to just think about that a little bit. Christian has to think about that.
“They will deny it, but it’s just my belief that there was a situation where it was easier to keep Checo in the car rather than consider a position where it might be better for the team where they would get a Constructors’ title next year.”
Speculation in November pointed towards Christian Horner exploring a deal to lift Sainz from his Williams contract, but the Red Bull Team Principal claimed these rumours to be false.
Toro Rosso relationship between Verstappen and Sainz was ‘toxic’
After the curtain-closer in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen reaffirmed that the decision to keep Perez or not was “up to the team”, amid growing speculation that he will be replaced by RB’s Liam Lawson.
Jordan’s belief that the prospect of Sainz joining Red Bull can be corroborated by the fact that the Spaniard, who will race for Williams from 2025, does not enjoy the most cordial of relationships with Verstappen.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has previously been on record about the tensions between the two men, saying as far back as 2022 in an interview with Red Bull magazine The Red Bulletin: “The atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic.
“In the set-up we had at the time, I couldn’t see a way of keeping him with us and so he moved to Renault, McLaren and then on to Ferrari.”
However, speaking with Auto Motor und Sport this year, Sainz hoped that his past relationship with Verstappen in Toro Rosso wouldn’t have had an impact on being overlooked by Red Bull in 2024.
“We were 16 and 19 years old back then,” Sainz said. “We’ve matured a lot since then.
“At Toro Rosso, they put you in a team and say: fight each other, then we’ll see who’s the best and who gets promoted to Red Bull!
“You can see it with Charles [Leclerc] and Lando [Norris], my last two team-mates – there were never any problems,” the Spaniard added.
“So if my relationship with Max was the reason why I didn’t end up there, then I would say that there would have been no problems.”
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