Sergio Perez has warned Red Bull that he won't support teammate Max Verstappen if it isn't reciprocated.
After assisting the Dutchman to his first Formula 1 title in 2021, the Mexican hoped Max would return the favour as he battled Charles Leclerc for second in the championship during the closing races of last year.
Instead, at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Verstappen ignored a team instruction to let Perez back ahead after initially being ushered through to try and close down the Ferrari driver.
After a post-race meeting to cool tensions, with Checo saying the incident "showed who Verstappen really is", Red Bull boss Christian Horner insisted harmony had been restored.
And the Mexican has stated he and Max need to be on the same page.
“I think we obviously have to work together as a team but at the same time, we both want to win the championship,” Perez said.
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“So it’s just having good compromise, always putting the team before us, and I think the competition will be really strong out there, so we really need everything we possibly can from each other.
“The strategy is clear – it’s to maximise the potential of the car, and we believe we have a good car, but how good? We don’t know what the competition is doing.
"We just gave our best building this car and we hope that it is good enough to get us to win races.”
At the same time, however...
“Obviously if I see that I don’t receive support when I need it, I won’t give it either,” the 33-year-old told Fox Sports Mexico.
“I think we are very clear about the important thing, it will be a very intense season, surely with six cars fighting for the championship, so it will be very important to work as a team in many races.”
Busy day ahead tomorrow 💪 We can't wait 😎 pic.twitter.com/sGFW7NIMva
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 2, 2023
Perez also enters 2023 keen to prove he can take the fight to Verstappen after fading away last year following a promising start.
“Without a doubt this year will determine many things, how good I am, how much I want to continue in the sport, without a doubt it is a crucial year in my career,” he said.
“If you don’t have 100% desire to get up, train every day, take care of what you eat, everything you have to give to the sport, if you don’t have that 100% energy, I don’t see myself being here at 90.”
