Saudi Arabian Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez has revealed that things between himself and team-mate Max Verstappen “are great”, after talks were held following the recent round.
Perez wasn’t pleased at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit after discovering that Verstappen had set the fastest lap on the final lap of the race, with the Mexican having been told to stick to “a certain pace”.
Verstappen actually snatched the fastest lap off Perez, meaning the Dutchman leads the championship by just a point.
“They told me I had the fastest lap and to keep the pace at a certain pace,” Perez told reporters in Jeddah.
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“I thought the communication was the same to Max, I think we need to review the different information and I just couldn’t push then in the end.”
It appears that a review has taken place ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, with the 33-year-old having shared that talks took place following Saudi Arabia.
It means that two clear-the-air talks have taken place at Red Bull just in the last four months, with talks having also taken place after Verstappen defied team orders in Brazil.
Perez is confident that the entire team “are all in the same line” now and have learnt from the previous round.
“[Things] are great,” Perez said as per the official F1 website. “I think we spoke about it and we are all in the same line, we obviously learn from that.
“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.”
With Perez having started this season stronger than any previous campaign, he’s called for himself and Verstappen to both “respect” the team radio, with Checo recognising that if he plays his cards right this season then he truly is a title contender.
“When I came to the team, things were very different,” Perez said. “And 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. And I think that’s, that’s something good to have as a driver.
“I really believe that they have 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.
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“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.”