Perez denies ‘wrong rumour’ he deliberately crashed in Monaco

It has been reported that Perez crashed on purpose in qualifying in Monaco to secure a better grid position than his teammate, and that his apparent admission of doing so was the reason behind Verstappen’s refusal to help him in Brazil last weekend. 

But Perez dismissed the reports ahead of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, describing them as “rumours” created by the media. 

“That’s speculation from the media out there and creating rumours,” Perez said. 

“As I said, we are all aware of what is going on within the team and we want to keep everything within the team.”

When pressed further, Perez added: “That rumour is wrong.” 

Perez played down suggestions he and Verstappen’s relationship could be damaged by the events of last weekend, insisting the pair have spoken and moved on. 

“We have discussed what happened in Sao Paulo internally and we have agreed for the benefit of the team that this should remain internal, what we discussed within the team,” he said. 

“It’s best so we don’t open any speculation, we move on and we are able to be the team we used to be, united and strong, and that is the priority of the team, to put all of this behind us and just move forward.

“I think we are both grown-ups, we will be able to put this behind us and we will look forward.” 

Perez also said he regrets his post-race comments about Verstappen in Sao Paulo.

"Obviously, F1, it’s a very emotional sport,” he explained. “There is no other sport where you can speak yourself live. It’s only in F1 that this happens. 

"There is a lot of emotions going on in a lot of things you say. I obviously regret a lot of things that I said after the race because yeah I am back with Max in the relationship that we used to have. 

“We are both and the team and everyone ready to move forwards.” 

Perez is tied level on points with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the fight to secure runner-up spot in the championship at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. 

Asked if he believes he can count on Verstappen’s help if required, Perez replied: “Yes, I’m pretty sure I can count on him and on my team.”