Max Verstappen has admitted that he had to say sorry to new teammate Sergio Perez for an incident from the past. Before becoming teammates, the Red Bull pair made contact on the first lap of the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. As a result, Perez was forced to pit and slipped down the order, though eventually managed to work his way back up to finish in seventh. When asked if he had apologised to Verstappen for what happened, Perez suggested that he hadn't. It turns out that Verstappen was the one to take the blame. "I had to say sorry," the Dutchman told Sky Sports F1. "I mean, it was chaos that first lap, even afterwards, like the whole lap to be honest was a bit tricky out there." Fortunately the incident has not caused any lasting bad feeling between Verstappen and Perez, who are in their first year as Red Bull teammates following Perez's switch from the former Racing Point outfit. "It's good. We can laugh about it," Verstappen said. "We've done both of us so many races." So far in the 2021 Formula 1 season, Verstappen has been ahead of Perez on the track, barring the occasion where Perez outqualified him at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. However, should there come a point where the pair are racing for position, Perez insists that they are free to race. "I think we can race," the Mexican explained. "But it's important to think of the team. It's important to bring those points, as many points as possible." Verstappen is currently in second place in the drivers' standings with 61 points, just eight points behind leader Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile Perez is in sixth position with 22 points to his name. Perez might still be adjusting to his new team but he is already impressed with their work ethic. "I've been very impressed with the team. They just constantly search for performance in every single detail. I think that's very important and that shows why they've been so successful."
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