Red Bull "don't have to tell me what to do" - Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez

Red Bull "don't have to tell me what to do" - Perez

Red Bull driver aiming to build confidence to support Max Verstappen title quest

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Wednesday 19 May 2021 19:00

Sergio Perez has brushed aside comments from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko as he heads into a Monaco Grand Prix he feels is vital in his bid to get to grips with the car.

Marko, notorious for his brutal honesty, pointed the finger in a recent interview with Auto Motor und Sport by declaring the destiny of this year's F1 titles “will also be decided by the second driver in the team”.

Perez, who was signed to boost Red Bull's title hopes, is currently losing the ‘second driver’ battle to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Article continues under video

The Mexican, however, believes if he can address his issues in Monaco it will bode well for his Red Bull future.

“You need some confidence with the car in Monaco,” said Perez. “If I am able to build that throughout the weekend and really feel at one with the car then it will be very good for the rest of the season.

“If you are able to get confidence in Monaco, you can get it anywhere else. It’s a very important weekend for me in that regard, to be able to build and get that confidence with the car, which I don’t have just now.”

Following the recent Spanish GP, team principal Christian Horner applied pressure on Perez for the first time by claiming the team 'desperately needed' him to perform.

Perez is aware of what is required. He added: “The responsibility is with me to deliver to my maximum. It is not mainly to help Max, it’s to deliver to be in the fight where the car needs to be. It’s as simple as that.

“I have to be where the car deserves to be and I wasn’t able to do that last weekend. All the pressure is coming from myself. I really want to deliver to the maximum car potential, to where the team is operating at.

“The team hasn’t put me under any pressure. I know what kind of job I have to do, so they don’t have to tell me what to do.”