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Max Verstappen has defended Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez after what he described as “very harsh” criticism of the Mexican driver.

The Dutchman, who claimed his fourth consecutive world championship in 2024, finished 285 points ahead of Perez in the ranking of the drivers.

A torrid run of results for Perez has resulted in speculation about his futurewith Red Bull expecting to make a decision this week on whether Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson will replace the 34-year-old before 2025.

Still, Verstappen, who has been teammates with Perez since 2021, had sympathy for the man next to him in the garage, admitting that the RB20 car was “difficult to drive” at times during the season.

“I work with him every weekend, week in, week out,” Verstappen said during the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. “I notice that people have been very hard on him.

“Of course some weekends could have been better, but sometimes people have been very hard on him because he’s not an idiot.

“He’s always been considered a great driver and it’s been tough, but it’s been tough for everyone in the team because it’s just been really hard to drive at times.

“I have always worked very well with Checo. He’s a great guy, honestly. It’s rare that you have a teammate like him, who has always been very good and is just a nice guy for us.”

However, Perez has remained steadfast in his belief that he will race F1 again next year.

“I just know I have a contract to race this year, unless something changes in the next few days, that will be the situation next year,” he said.

“I have a contract that I signed earlier this year to race for the team for the next two years. So we will see in the coming days what happens and how the conversation goes.”

After four podiums in his first five races, Perez failed to finish above sixth place after race six in Miami.

His poor form meant Red Bull failed to defend the constructors’ title, with McLaren and Ferrari both finishing ahead of Christian Horner’s team