Sergio Perez believes he and Max Verstappen have equal support from Red Bull in this year's Formula 1 championship fight.
With the RB19 proving a class above the rest so far in 2023, the Mexican appears to be the only real hurdle standing between Verstappen and a third world title.
And already there are signs of internal conflict building after a fractious final few laps in Jeddah that saw Max take the fastest lap bonus point from Perez on the final lap.
In response, Checo called for a review after being told both cars were managing their pace, but ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, those tensions appear to have been eased.
“[Things] are great, I think we spoke about it and we are all in the same line, we obviously learn from that," Perez said via Formula1.com.
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"At the time I thought I was not given the right information but now looking back at it, it was all very well played by the team.”
Perez then went on to praise Red Bull further for giving him a growing presence in the team.
“When I came to the team, things were very different,” he claimed. “Basically, they were just going racing with two cars because they had to.
“I can say now that I really feel part of the team, I really feel like I have my place well respected. I think that’s something good to have as a driver.
“I really believe that I have the full support of the team, as much as Max does, and that I will have every single opportunity to win the championship as much Max," Perez added.
“If I want to win the championship, I have to beat Max.
“When you are in the fight for the championship, you got to take your A game to every single race, and you have to try everything you possibly can.
“But at the same time, I think it will be very important that we will respect whatever has been told by the team.”
As a recent master of F1's street circuits, this weekend's race at Albert Park could be a good chance for Perez to win back-to-back races for the first time in his career.
However, Australia hasn't always been kind to Red Bull, with just one win coming in 2011 and only two podiums in the hybrid era
“Well, we are hopefully going to keep the momentum going, for the team it’s been a great first two races but there is a long way ahead of us so it will be very important, every weekend is a new challenge,” Sergio, who finished second last year, said.
“I’m feeling good, but every weekend is a new challenge so [I’m] looking forward to this new challenge.
“Bahrain and Saudi are very different tracks to each other, and Australia will be another challenge for us and this car.
"We have great pace and are working so hard together to make sure our reliability is there too. It’s been a fun start to 2023 but that won’t matter if we don’t maintain our high level."
