Max Verstappen was told Red Bull would not request team orders ahead of the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, according to his father Jos.

Verstappen moved ahead of Perez for sixth place in the race in the final few laps, but refused a request from race engineer GianPiero Lambiase to hand the position back to his team-mate as he looked to secure second in the Drivers’ standings.

Max Verstappen team order snub explained as he leaves ‘no room for doubt’

Verstappen was already the 2022 World Champion at the time of this race, but Perez, who recently left his seat as a Red Bull driver, was locked in a close battle with Charles Leclerc for second place in the standings.

The Dutch driver refused to comply with Red Bull’s request to allow his team-mate back past for the two extra points for sixth place on the day after failing to catch Fernando Alonso in the closing stages, leading to what Verstappen dubbed “ridiculous” personal criticism on social media.

He had referenced “something that happened in the past” among his “reasons” behind not allowing his team-mate by at the time, but father Jos, himself a former Formula 1 driver, explained the team went into that weekend without the intention of swapping the cars around.

Even still, he admitted the now-four-time World Champion “would have had trouble” allowing his team-mate past in that circumstance.

Verstappen Sr told Dutch publication Formule 1: “That question came. Max had talked about it before the trip to Brazil and they weren’t going to ask, and suddenly that question came over the onboard radio anyway.

“Max responded very clearly then too. He leaves no room for doubt, even in this area.”

The former Benetton and Arrows driver was questioned about McLaren’s team orders scenario at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this year, in which Lando Norris eventually made way for Oscar Piastri after uncertainty over team radio.

Piastri took the lead of the race and held it throughout the first stint, but Norris was pitted first to cover those behind and, with fresher tyres, jumped ahead of his team-mate.

After much back-and-forth, he eventually relented and moved aside to hand the Australian a first Grand Prix victory, but Verstappen said his son would have “had trouble” doing the same as Norris in a similar situation.

“They must have regretted that later,” Verstappen said of McLaren’s Budapest decision.

“But it’s hard to say anything about that, because you don’t know what’s going on in that team, what contracts are like and what agreements were made.

“But if I translate it to Max, I think he would have had trouble letting his teammate pass. But everyone is different and has to react in the way that suits them.”