Sergio Perez says the only pressure he's under is "coming from myself" ahead of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.
After the last race in Spain, there was the first hint at frustration from the team when both Christian Horner and Max Verstappen admitted they "desperately" need the Mexican to start disrupting Mercedes on race day.
However, Perez insists Red Bull's desire to see him join the battle at the front is surpassed by his own passion to perform at his best.
“All the pressure is coming from myself," he said via RaceFans on Wednesday in Monte Carlo. “I really want to deliver to the maximum potential to where the team is operating at.
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“The team hasn’t put me [under] any pressure. I know what kind of job I have to do. So they don’t have to tell me what to do.”
As for this weekend, Perez might be an interesting driver to watch as tyre management has been the main feature of the past few races in Monaco.
Checo also knows how to finish on the podium on the street circuit, doing so with Force India back in 2016, and he's keen to repeat that feat on Sunday.
“It would mean a lot because it would be my first podium with Red Bull,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to it.
"Hopefully we are able to put a great race together and finally get into those positions and start to reduce the gap to the leaders.
“There is plenty of improvements to come and I think I’ve got a lot of room to improve. Every weekend I’m definitely learning more about the car.
“I think Spain obviously was a one-off on Saturday. So the first three races, I think we’ve been making good progress and Spain I just forgot that Saturday and move on.”
