After a phenomenal run in Saudi Arabia where he delivered a win for the team, Sergio Perez has hit a major roadblock in Australia. The Mexican Minister of Defense beached his car in the gravel after locking up and going into the runoff area. Turns out, there is an ongoing issue with either the car or some tweaks that he is running, which caused some issues during the practice sessions as well. Given how things arguably haven’t been going smoothly between him and his teammate Max Verstappen, some fans felt the team intentionally sabotaged him. Others felt it was just an issue of lack of skills on his part.

Soon after the race concluded in Jeddah, as is the tradition, Checo celebrated with the team’s mechanics and crew. Also present there was Max’s father, Jos, who did not look too impressed despite his son managing a P2 finish after starting from P15. That, according to some, confirmed a rift between the two camps.

Sergio Perez bowing out in Q1 as a result of sabotage or his fault?

Soon after getting stuck in the gravel and mud, Perez told his race engineer on the team radio, “We need to solve that issue man. It was the same sh*t issue again.” He was perhaps referring to the similar complaints he raised during the Practice sessions.

The comment has caused a war between his fans and Max’s. While his fanbase believes that his crashing out in the first session of qualifying is a result of deliberate sabotage to please Verstappen, others think it’s his own doing.

Take a look at some reactions from Twitter.

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One fan alleged that Red Bull was catering to Max’s hurt ego by compromising Sergio’s results.

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Do you think there is a bigger conspiracy working behind the scenes against Perez in his own team? Would RB do it just to please Max and cater to his so-called ego?