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Max Verstappen's father, Jos, has addressed the comments from Sergio Perez about the Max-oriented environment at Red Bull. Perez, who left Red Bull after an underwhelming 2024 season, recently said that no driver, irrespective of their caliber, would survive as Verstappen's teammate.The Mexican driver claimed that the four-time world champion has a "very unique" driving style and Red Bull develops the car according to his requirements."No driver can survive there," Perez said via Sky Sports. "It doesn't matter if you bring Hamilton, Leclerc. Whoever you bring there is going to struggle massively. It's a very unique driving style. You have to constantly be adapting to the needs of Max. It's as simple as that."The second driver at Red Bull since before Sergio Perez, and his successors, have failed miserably in comparison to Max Verstappen. The theory that the Milton Keynes outfit tailors the car to his making has been floated around for a few years. However, Jos Verstappen has rejected this notion. In response to Perez's comments, the former F1 driver said (via de Telegraaf):"I would say the same in Pérez's case. But I, and everyone close to the action, know that's not the case. Sometimes even the brightest minds don't understand why a car reacts differently, but Max has the ability to adapt to the car in all circumstances.""Of course, he gives feedback about how the car feels, but that's normal. Everyone always says it's all about him. Sorry, but that's really not the case," Jos Verstappen re-emphasized.Sergio Perez's immediate successor, Liam Lawson, was demoted to junior team Racing Bulls after only two races this season. Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced him, has scored only 25 points since the promotion compared to Max Verstappen's 285 in the same period.In 2026, Perez heads to Cadillac F1, which will join the F1 as the 11th team on the grid. Whereas Tsunoda is reportedly expected to lose his seat and leave the organization altogether. Rumors of the Japanese driver being in contention for an IndyCar seat with Dale Coyne Racing in 2026 have surfaced. Jos Verstappen claims Max Verstappen has turned an "inferior" Red Bull RB21 into a "winning car"Jos Verstappen with Max Verstappen at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Source: GettyRed Bull's on-track performance took a hit in the first half of the 2025 season. Max Verstappen, who was consistently fighting for podiums and wins for over three seasons, saw himself fighting for Top 5 finishes, and also finished below that for a few races.Before this year, it wasn't common to see the Dutchman's teammates struggle, but never him. A growing consensus pointed towards Red Bull's technical developments failing. However, after the summer break, Verstappen has finished all six races on the podium, including three race wins.Jos Verstappen gave credit to new team principal Laurent Mekies, who began listening to Max's feedback and giving it more preference over just the technical team's vision. This made the four-time champion return to winning ways."He turned an inferior car into a winning car," Jos said via de Telegraaf. "That's unique. I think it's noticeable now, because the difference with the second-place driver is enormous. And that was also the case last year."With four races to go, Max Verstappen is third in the drivers' championship, 35 points behind second-placed Oscar Piastri, who is one point behind McLaren teammate and championship leader Lando Norris. The three-way F1 title battle continues at the Brazil Grand Prix this weekend, where the Red Bull driver is expected to perform the best.
