“Red Bull may ask me to give up a race win for Max Verstappen”: Sergio Perez expects complicated team orders ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend

Sergio Perez feels that Red Bull could be issuing some complicated team orders for him at this weekend’s Mexican GP. 

Perez has raced in front of his home fans in Mexico City before. However, he will be doing so with Red Bull for the first time. It is probably his best chance to win a Formula 1 race in his home country. However, Checo is wary that despite going for a race win, he may be forced to follow some problematic team orders.

Teammate Max Verstappen is currently in the midst of an intense Championship battle with Lewis Hamilton. The former is 12 points ahead at the top, with just five races remaining. Hence, to strengthen Verstappen’s title chances, Red Bull may be forced to make a difficult decision.

In a press conference ahead of the Grand Prix weekend, Perez made it clear that something could happen. The 31-year old also said that it is difficult to predict situations like this until the lights go out on Sunday.

We have to look at the bigger picture here, says Sergio Perez

Checo was asked about a ‘team orders situation’ arising at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez this week. He replied by saying it’s not as easy as what people think.

“It’s complicated,” he said. “We should see what circumstances we have in the race. At the end of the day, we are drivers working as a team, and the main focus is on the team.

“It’s the big picture. We will have to look at the circumstances. And that’s the beauty of racing. That decisions are made in the moment, in seconds, even though they are very complicated issues.”

Also read: “I want to win the Championship next year”: Sergio Perez speaks about his ambitions to fight for the F1 title with Red Bull in 2022

Perez wants to achieve his childhood dream of winning in Mexico

“I would be proud to be able to achieve one of my dreams since my childhood and win. This is a real opportunity that depends on me and my team, whereas other years it depended on other factors. So there is a very real chance, and my motivation is 100 percent.”

“I think we are in a good rhythm to fight for the podium in the last races,” he said when asked about his chances of winning Mexico. “We are fighting for a lot in these last races, and every point will be important.”

Sergio Perez will be racing this weekend on the back of 2 consecutive podium finishes in Turkey and the USA. The Guadalajara born driver is 4th in the Driver’s Championship with 150 points.