Not for the first time, Sergio Perez has denied there a rivalry exists between himself and Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
Verstappen has dominated the 2023 season, winning 15 of the 18 races thus far which saw him crowned champion-elect at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Perez started the year strongly with two wins in the opening four races but has seen his form wane since the Miami Grand Prix.
A crash in qualifying in Monaco further dented his confidence, and he’s been unable to match his triple world champion team-mate.
That has led to suggestions of disharmony in the team, a claim not helped by local media in Mexico this weekend with newspapers carrying headlines disparaging of Verstappen and Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.
“I think media likes to create these sorts of rivalries outside the track,” Perez began.
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“We are a great sport, we are a great example for a lot of generations and we should just be focused on the sport side – whatever happens on track should always stay there.
“There is nothing else going on; the most important [thing] is that everything stays on track.”
Pressed on the subject, Perez again refuted suggestions of ructions with Verstappen.
The pair have had clashes before, with qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix thought to be the origin of one such flashpoint last year.
There, Perez crashed in the final moments, denying Verstappen an opportunity to improve on his lap and leaving the Mexican on pole. He went on to win the race.
It’s a run-in that came to the fore at last year’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix when Red Bull moved Perez aside in the closing laps to release Verstappen.
With the Dutchman unable to make further inroads, he was asked to hand the position back, which he refused.
Then, as now, suggestions of disharmony within the team were raised and denied.
“Obviously we are all rivals,” Perez said ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
“At the same time, we are all sports athletes. We all want to do the best for ourselves.
“Max and myself, we are in the same team, so we both want to win, and we’re giving our best, so I don’t think there should be any rivalry.
“For example, if I’m fighting for the race with Fernando [Alonso], he’s not my rival out of the track, it’s just that we are fighting on track.
“But, like I say, the media like to create this rivalry out of the track, which I don’t think is right and it’s important for the fans to understand that.”
Perez sits second in the drivers’ championship, the pressure to hold on to that place having eased following Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
He holds a 39-point advantage with four races remaining as Red Bull looks to secure first and second in the championship for the first time in its history.
However, the performance difference to Verstappen has seen pressure mount on Perez with suggestions, refuted by the driver and team, that he could be replaced for 2024.
