Red Bull hopes it won't need to make a call in Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix that would deprive Sergio Perez of a sensational home win, but team boss Christian Horner won't dismiss the eventuality.
As the fight for world title intensifies between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the role of Red Bull and Mercedes' number two drivers is becoming more prominent.
Perez and Valtteri Bottas aim to take points away from their respective rivals, but if the Mexican powers ahead of his teammate on Sunday, and especially if he is leading the race, Red Bull will need to choose its priorities.
Horner gave a hint about where the latter will lie if such a situation comes to pass.
©RedBull
"You have to understand it's a team sport," Horner told Sky in Mexico City on Friday.
"It's a team sport and we're fighting for both the constructors' and drivers' world championship.
"This is one of 22 races, it happens to be Checo's home race, and you'd hate to be in a position that you're asking a driver to do that.
"But we're going to have to talk about all of these scenarios before the race and have a clear plan going into the race, so everybody knows what the plan and what the objective is.
"The objective here is maximum points. Because at this point in the championship, we can't afford to give a single point away.
"It's a team sport, and everybody plays their role in the team. If we need to maximise our points, we'll need to do that."
On Thursday, Perez said that any discussions about team orders would likely be deferred until after qualifying at the earliest. But regardless of when those discussions will take place, Horner believes that Perez knows what will be required from him on race day.
"We will certainly discuss these things, as we always do before any grand prix," he added. "Sergio knows what his job is and for the team to support his teammate. And it would be a wonderful problem to have.
"We need him there. You saw in Austin, by having Sergio there, it didn't enable Lewis to go longer at that first stint. He couldn't extend it, he needed to pit to cover Checo.
"So strategically, it just buys you more options. And that's what we've been desperate for. So for Sergio to hit a bit of form, now's the perfect time."
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