Sergio Perez says his working relationship with Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen is dominated by a high level of mutual respect, more than people on the outside think there is.
At last month's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Perez was leading the race with Verstappen in second position but unable to reel in the Mexican.
Both drivers were told to manage their pace in the closing stages of the race to ensure a 1-2 for Red Bull. However, on the final lap, Verstappen made a successful bid for the fastest lap, which rewarded the Dutchman with an extra bonus point.
Perez admitted to being surprised by his teammate's, with the rivalry seemingly igniting a bit of tension between the two drivers.
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With Red Bull running in a league of its own, the championship appears to be leading to a fierce intra-team rivalry between its two drivers.
But Perez pushed back on the prospect of his competitive relationship with Verstappen dissolving into acrimony.
"To be honest, we got a lot more respect for each other than than people might think out there," he said in Australia recently.
"There is a great atmosphere with a with a team, there is a very high level of respect between each other in the team with all the engineers from their side and my side.
"I think we are both mature enough to know what's right and what's wrong. As long as that keeps being the case, and I don't expect anything to change."
Verstappen leads Perez two wins to one after three championship rounds, and Perez admits that he'll need to be at the top of his game, and then some, to beat the Dutchman to the world title this season.
"Not only Jeddah but already in Bahrain, we were in very small margins, in qualifying and in the race," he noted.
"There is no doubt that there is no driver on such a form as there is Max, and so together with the team with the car he's definitely the hardest driver to beat," he said.
"So it will require the maximum amount from me to bring my A game at every single weekend."
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