How Red Bull will decide Perez team orders fate in Mexico
How Red Bull will decide Perez team orders fate in Mexico
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stated Red Bull's position that it wants Sergio Perez to win in Mexico but 'can't rule out' team orders to the contrary.
Ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Perez said, "It’s just great to finally have a team and a car that we can dream of a victory in my home country."
His comments will, however, have been made known in full knowledge of the fact that even if he leads onto the final lap at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, he could be asked to pull over and allow team-mate Max Verstappen through.
Aware of the magnitude of such a decision and the damage to Red Bull's popularity in Mexico, Horner described the potential call "an incredibly tough one."
"Our main objective is to win both championships, and both drivers know the task involved to achieve that," explained Horner.
"But of course so many scenarios, what-ifs, can happen. It will depend where our opponents are.
"You can’t rule it out, you can’t rule it in. Our preference would be to see Checo, if Checo were in that position, to win his home race.
"There’s no bigger result for any home driver – but as a team, we have to keep an eye on both of these championships and know what’s at stake.
"This race like any other has the same amount of points attributable to it and therefore we treat it like any other race."
Sebastian Vettel, himself the beneficiary of team orders while at Red Bull, on Thursday urged Perez to ignore any orders from the pit wall on Sunday.
Reflecting that team orders are "part of the sport being a team sport", Horner added: "Drivers are part of the team and you know we operate as a team and that’s why team orders sometimes are necessary for the best interests of the sport.
"I’ve got no doubt you will see more and more of that at the sharp end of this championship over the remaining five races.
"We’ve seen it to date and we will see, as teams are going up against each other, whether it’s for first in the drivers’ or constructors’ or P3 in the constructors’ or whatever battles are going on beyond that.
"Formula 1 is a team sport and everybody has their role to play as part of that team."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 7 minutes ago
Former F1 champion in surprise take over safety improvements
- 15 minutes ago
F1 set for stunning 2026 RETURN to shock track
- 1 hour ago
Jos Verstappen fears Newey exit will trigger Red Bull collapse
- 2 hours ago
- 1
FIA announce Mercedes singled out for F1 inspection ahead of Miami Grand Prix
- 3 hours ago
Vettel to make F1 RETURN in tribute to legend
- Today 09:12
Related news
Ferrari driver confirms he won't be in F1 for 2024
Perez's father makes huge Red Bull claim after Mexican GP
Wolff praises Hamilton for 'best performance' in Mexico
Sainz explains key F1 factor which makes Mercedes faster than Ferrari
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860