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Sergio Perez believes he wouldn't be at Red Bull if he was brought in to just be the second driver behind defending world champion Max Verstappen.
Since arriving on the team at the start of the 2021 season, the Mexican has proven himself to be a reliable and consistent teammate for Verstappen. Perez has also on occasion sacrificed his race to aid the Dutchman, most notably in the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP, when he crucially held Lewis Hamilton up.
The team orders at last week's 2022 F1 Spanish GP, however, rubbed the 32-year-old the wrong way after he was asked not to make life difficult for Max Verstappen en route to his fourth win of the year.
When asked if he had discussed the situation with the team ahead of the 2022 F1 Monaco GP, Sergio Perez said:
“Yes, we spoke after the race. I felt that during the race that we could have given a very good shot at the two-stop strategy to see if it could work or not, which the team took onboard. At the end of the day, it was clear that the three-stop was the way to go. And yeah it was just we both agree on the same page and we move on. And it’s a great atmosphere here at Red Bull; we have a great momentum. So, at the end of the day, it was a great team result, and they made it clear that I have the full support of the team to see me winning.”
The Red Bull driver was then asked if the air had been cleared between him and the team. Perez replied, saying:
“It’s fairly clear. They didn’t need to say it, but it’s clear, I think on my side of the garage it’s clear and inside the team. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. So, it’s fairly clear.”
Red Bull lauded Sergio Perez for playing the team game during 2022 F1 Spanish GP
Sergio Perez was not thrilled to receive team orders during the 2022 F1 Spanish GP but was lauded by team principal Christian Horner for not impeding Max Verstappen during the race.
Speaking in a post-race interview with Sky Sports F1, the 48-year-old said:
“I have to shout out to Checo [Sergio Perez] for playing the team game. They weren’t in the same race today, their strategies were different but he did fantastically well. The problem that we had was we had temperatures raging and the last thing you want to risk is a DNF when you have two cars that could do a 1-2.”
Horner went on to add, saying:
“We had two cars on different strategies so it wasn’t a straight fight. Checo’s tyres wouldn’t have made it to the end so that is why he pitted near the end to get that fastest lap. What Checo couldn’t see at the time was he had such a long stint to do on that medium tyre and Max [Verstappen] had such a tyre advantage, as a team we didn’t need to take that risk.”
Perez and Red Bull are also expected to begin negotiations over a possible new contract. The 32-year-old's current deal is set to run out at the end of the season.
