Perez is a ''dirty driver''

[FAS33]

bit harsh when your own teammate says that, from what I saw in that race it was just hard racing, even the commentators said so. I wonder what Whtimarsh is thinking now, he criticized him for being too soft and slow before, I wonder if he'll give him a pep talk for being too fast.

[Canada ALMS fan]

I really enjoyed watching him last year but so far this year I would have to agree. Maybe not "dirty", but definitely dangerous, especially considering these are open wheel. It reeks of desperation. Hopefully he matures over the next few races. At least he's quick, look at who replaced him at Sauber...

[Paradise City]

Perez put up an admirable fight with 'Uncle' Charlie Slim in attendance. The team and teammate won't like it for good reasons, the fans will like it for good reasons though.

It'll be amusing atmosphere in McLaren. The prospect of their boys at war with each other will terrify Mclaren but they want Slim's money so they won't be too hard on young Perez much to Button's frustration.

[F1Pete]

I thought Perez did exceptionally well today. Okay, he did hit Button in the rear, but chalk that up to a rookie mistake. He was lucky that both got away unscathed. Regardless of that, Whitmarsh surely must be pleased by the performance. Let's hope it's not a flash in the pan.

[Peralta]

Perez hit Jenson "the whiner" Button cause Button went off throttle coming out of the apex. Basically brake testing him probably due to his fustrations with a quicker teammate. I think Button was the dirty driver and then he and Whitmarsh ganging up on Perez on Sky after the race was pathetic and made Button look like a whining baby. Get used to it Button. Perez is not a pushover.

[gomick]

Perez had a crack, its what he is there for... I think Vettel has a crack too, doesnt he, its what we want to see - that was an entertaining race last night, not some sterile procession it often is!
Still, will be good if Button & Perez become fierce rivals at McLaren!

[Scooter185]

Webbers move on Nico was pretty awful too, and nico was only slightly less "dirty" with some of his blocks. Perez was probably too aggressive, especially with his own team mate, but Jenson was clearly slower and should have let him by. It paid off though, and if he can keep that intensity without wrecking his or someone else's car -especially the other mclaren- I can see him being towards the pointy end, and even on the podium. Checo brought it up to 11, but needs to dial it back a bit lest he start channeling his inner 2012 RoGro

[formerf1champ]

Originally Posted by Peralta

Perez hit Jenson "the whiner" Button cause Button went off throttle coming out of the apex. Basically brake testing him probably due to his fustrations with a quicker teammate. I think Button was the dirty driver and then he and Whitmarsh ganging up on Perez on Sky after the race was pathetic and made Button look like a whining baby. Get used to it Button. Perez is not a pushover.

Could not tell from the first 3 races.

Originally Posted by gomick

Perez had a crack, its what he is there for... I think Vettel has a crack too, doesnt he, its what we want to see - that was an entertaining race last night, not some sterile procession it often is!
Still, will be good if Button & Perez become fierce rivals at McLaren!

Handbags at 10 paces?

[GT6]

What is wrong with some people, they complain about team orders and how wrong they are but as soon as the drivers actually battle against team mates they complain again, Perez put up a good fight and good on him for doing so

[Aysedasi]

I've no complaints. I was convinced JB eased deliberately. He needs to get used to the fact that Perez has a job to do....

[garcon]

McLaren insist on their self-righteous holier than thou moral crusade of letting their drivers compete with each other, so they can't exactly complain when they do.

What happened yesterday was a tiny bit robust at times but I saw absolutely nothing wrong in it. Jenson's a wily old campaigner these days - his comments are carefully crafted but he gave as good as he got (and probably thoroughly enjoyed the fight).

[Knowlesy]

It amused me when Jenson banged wheels with Perez on the straight and got on the radio to say Perez swerved at him.

Like I said in other threads, I thought Perez was far too agressive at many points but it was good to see him going for it for once. Whitmarsh's words obviously had an effect!

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by Peralta

Perez hit Jenson "the whiner" Button cause Button went off throttle coming out of the apex. Basically brake testing him probably due to his fustrations with a quicker teammate. I think Button was the dirty driver and then he and Whitmarsh ganging up on Perez on Sky after the race was pathetic and made Button look like a whining baby. Get used to it Button. Perez is not a pushover.

Coming off throttle mid corner is a stupid thing to do in a race car (nasty oversteer). I seriously doubt he did it deliberately. Much more likely to be a lack of grip under power.

[bella]

eh. perez is feisty but he always has been, and that's pretty much one of the biggest weapons in his arsenal. if the old boys at the front who don't do anything challenging are going to moan about it then i think they need to go to the f1 doctor and ask for a dose of mtfu.

it's like earlier when lewis and the first couple of random gp2 hooligans first came into f1 and dared to actually fight for position on track. the old guys had completely forgotten how to defend and attack in reality, not in a textbook. i still think webber hasn't got the hang of it.

[stripedcat]

He raced yesterday. Yes, he made a slight mistake with Jenson's rear wheel - but he managed to get away with it. He was feisty but fair. I think it gave Jenson a bit of a wake-up call.

If you ask me - Nico's swerving in the race was a bit questionable. Now that could be considered "dirty".

[Marbot]

'Dirty Pirez'.......that's a name that could stick.

[Born Racer]

Where was the moving over on him that Jenson mentioned vocifereously on the radio? From what I could tell when I saw them on the straight, it was actually Jenson that moved over left into Sergio.

The tap on the rear wheel was not massively surprising either when you see how slow Jenson was mid-corner (shades of Mark Webber VS Romain Grosjean, Suzuka 2012).

Nothing to see here in my opinion, other than good close racing.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by JamesH

Coming off throttle mid corner is a stupid thing to do in a race car (nasty oversteer). I seriously doubt he did it deliberately. Much more likely to be a lack of grip under power.

I also doubt Jensen did something like that on purpose. However, Perez was faster yesterday and Jenson was clearly not happy about it. This is what we should expect to see if teammates are allowed to race each other and that is just fine with me.

Richard

[Alan Raine]

Perez was quicker and Jenson was making it hard for him. Nothing wrong as far as I could see....it's called racing

[BSchneiderFan]

It was robust racing, maybe a bit too robust for team-mates racing each other. But I think JB has got a bit carried away. His frustration is understandable but this won't help.

[Born Racer]

Didn't Jenson say that in the heat of the moment though, red mist and all that? He was more than sanguine afterwards on Sky when with Martin Whitmarsh.

[Spudgun]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Didn't Jenson say that in the heat of the moment though, red mist and all that? He was more than sanguine afterwards on Sky when with Martin Whitmarsh.

Context is a wonderful thing. All of Button's quotes I have seen in all the news about this so far I recognise from Sky. On paper it looks like a rant, but actually watching the interview was far more philisophical.

When your team boss says you need to toughen up to the press in the run up to the race, what do you expect?

Perez probably did go a bit over the top, but bring in the other elements surrounding it and you can see why. He's a young guy trying to prove himself, takes a bit of flak from his boss so goes out and does something about it. He just needs to find the middle ground.

[garcon]

The media loves a bit of controversy, even if they have to invent it themselves.

I expect Button and Perez will have a friendly chat about things, where maybe they'll agree a few ground rules for the future. I also expect that if Perez is as good as I think he is he will take the opportunity to learn from an old hand and will want to keep his relationship with Button a positive one.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

I really enjoyed watching him last year but so far this year I would have to agree. Maybe not "dirty", but definitely dangerous, especially considering these are open wheel. It reeks of desperation. Hopefully he matures over the next few races. At least he's quick, look at who replaced him at Sauber...

Yes, Sauber got that wrong in my view. Gutierrez is nowhere at the moment, whereas Kobayashi was sort of performing at a Perez level.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I've no complaints. I was convinced JB eased deliberately. He needs to get used to the fact that Perez has a job to do....

Exactly. If anyone knows me from iRacing, they will know that I've once blocked 6 times on the front straight of the Daytona roval during McLaren GT practice.