“I just want to win the race, I’m not thinking about anything else”: Max Verstappen insists Red Bull have not held any discussions related to team orders with himself and Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen downplays any talk of team orders being issued in his favour ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend. 

The 24-year-old is in the middle of an intense Championship battle with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. He is 12 points ahead of Hamilton with just five races to go. On the other hand, teammate Sergio Perez will be racing in front of his home fans, in what is his best chance to win an F1 race at home.

This has led to speculation that Red Bull may be forced to make a difficult decision this week. Even Perez admitted that the situation is a bit complicated.

Despite all these talks, Verstappen insists that his team have had no such discussions. “We haven’t talked about that yet,” Verstappen said. “I just need to win every race, so we don’t need to talk about that at all.”

The Dutchman agrees that there is always added pressure when someone is racing at home. He compares Checo’s situation to that of his ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

“It’s fine to be less in the spotlight,” he explained. “Look, of course, I had it at Zandvoort. That is part of it, of course. “In the end, it’s good for the team because you sell merchandise, so that’s nice.”

Also read: Lewis Hamilton believes respect is important in his title battle with Max Verstappen

Track advantages won’t matter much in the remaining rounds, says Max Verstappen

On paper, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a track that should suit Red Bull more. However, Max seems to think that is not the case. He compares this to the expectations ahead of the US GP when everyone believed that the Mercedes would be faster.

“It looks positive of course, but you shouldn’t worry too much about it,” the Red Bull driver said. “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.”

130,000 fans are expected to attend the Mexican Grand Prix race on Sunday.

Also read: Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo think Red Bull shall let Sergio Perez win in Mexico