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Posted: 2023-03-21 23:22:06

Two races into the Formula 1 season and the Red Bull team are clear frontrunners.

They have finished first and second in each race, with their drivers taking a victory each.

Red Bull convincingly won the constructors' championship last season, and Max Verstappen has claimed the previous two drivers' world championships.

But all is not rosy in the garage of the champions.

There have been rumblings around the team for some time that all was not well at Red Bull and now a deleted tweet has set in motion what could be the story of the season.

After winning in Saudi Arabia, Sergio Perez sent out a tweet to his fans.

"It was tougher than I thought, but in the end I'm happy to get my fifth victory in F1. Very happy with the result of the team. We are going to keep pushing very hard, I want to be champion."

This tweet was deleted and then re-uploaded, but this time without the line "I want to be champion".

Sergio Perez leads the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Red Bull
Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the fifth win of his career.(Reuters: Hamad I Mohammed)

Verstappen is currently the man in F1.

Over the last two seasons, he has driven at a level only matched by the great Michael Schumacher during Ferrari's glory years at the start of the century.

But losing to his teammate in Saudi Arabia seemed to frustrate the champion.

Two F1 drivers during a fan event, on stage, talking to the audience
Max Verstappen's main title rival is his teammate.(Getty Images: Mark Thompson)

He reportedly didn't show up to a team meeting — frustrated with his car failing during qualifying — and defied his team by pushing on the last lap of the race to secure the fastest lap.

The one championship point award for fastest lap is all that separates the two at the top of the drivers' standings heading into round 3 in Melbourne.

These events have left many fans asking themselves: can Sergio Perez challenge for the title?

The Mexican certainly thinks so and told his fans he wants it, even if that tweet was deleted.

He also has all the motivation in the world to knock his teammate off his throne.

After being a near-perfect teammate in 2021 and helping Verstappen claim his first drivers' championship, Perez was let down by the Dutchman a year later.

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