Max Verstappen has suggested that he won’t let Sergio Perez win his home race in Mexico in front of his fans.
Red Bull have a problem on their hands. Verstappen needs every victory he can get to win the Drivers’ Championship. However, the upcoming Mexican GP will be a Perez playground, and everyone there will be rooting for him.
The team orders may definitely come for Checo to let his teammate by, and that is something that may not sit well with the home crowd. Perez also drives a very quick car, so there is no excuse for the team to prevent his victory.
Verstappen suggested that he won’t let Perez win his home race, but stated that the spotlight is something he is happy to share on merit.
“We haven’t talked about that yet,” Verstappen told RacingNews365.com.
“I just need to win every race, so we don’t need to talk about that at all.
“It’s fine to be less in the spotlight. Look, of course I had it at Zandvoort (Dutch GP). That is part of it of course. In the end, it’s good for the team, because you sell merchandise, so that’s nice.”
Nothing for granted
Red Bull are favourites in Mexico City, with Mercedes’ car not suited for the altitude of the track. Coupling that with Verstappen’s race pace means Red Bull can consider themselves contenders for a win.
However, Verstappen insisted that he is not concerned about the advantage, and stated that none of that really matters during the race.
“It looks positive of course, but you shouldn’t worry too much about it,” the Dutchman continued.
“You just have to get the best out of every weekend and at least not think too much about where you win and where you don’t.
“You don’t know. In America everyone thought Mercedes would win, but we won there in the end.
“It is all in the details. If we don’t have it right, we won’t win. So we have to make sure we have it right,” he concluded.
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