If Sergio Pérez wants to win his home race in Mexico, he has to do it alone. World champion Max Verstappen has no plans to reward his teammate with a win. Not even now, when his team Red Bull Racing also won the constructors’ title and Pérez is after the consolation: second place in the World Cup.

World champion Verstappen is great and unapproachable this season. He has long since extended his title, demoted the competition and is now aiming for his fourteenth win of the season. For Pérez it’s about more: The 32-year-old driver from Guadalajara is fighting for second place with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. ‘Checo’ has to catch up from a deficit of two World Championship points.

“It’s going to be a mega weekend, maybe the biggest race of my career,” Pérez looks ahead. “Especially now that we are champions here. I will win 100 percent at home. I have the team and the car to do it and I want to reward my fans. but this race feels fundamentally different than any other. Last year I was on the podium here for the first time. Now I want to reach the top step.”

can hardly enjoy

Pérez knows his Dutch teammate won’t play for Sinterklaas. “I’m ready to take on Max. If necessary, we will fight for it. We both want to win. It’s that simple. It makes sense when you have such a good car, it only works if everything is running perfectly.”

The latter seems to be a realistic scenario. Ferrari and Mercedes usually have no chance against the lightning-fast Bulls on Sunday this season. “It’s a shame that we can hardly really enjoy our successes,” says Pérez. “Everything happens so fast: before you know it, you’re on the plane on your way to the next destination and you’re already concentrating on the next Grand Prix. We won the constructors’ title last week, but we hardly celebrated.”

Verstappen will not play a supporting role at the start in Mexico City. “I’m here to win. That doesn’t change now that we have both world championship titles as a team.

“Sergio just needs to make sure he finishes ahead of Charles Leclerc. That’s the main goal this weekend.” According to Verstappen, Pérez does not need any support at all. “Checo is very experienced and knows exactly what to do. It’s also a lot more satisfying when you win a race alone.”

Addictive

Verstappen doesn’t expect his stablemate to give in to pressure from tens of thousands of Mexican fans. “That didn’t bother me in Zandvoort either. It doesn’t really feel any different. You just have to approach a home race like any other Grand Prix. Just do your best and enjoy the crowd, but it doesn’t cause any extra stress or anything.”

If Verstappen wins again in Mexico City on Sunday, he will break the record set by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. In Brazil and Abu Dhabi, the 25-year-old still has two more chances to shorten the record to sixteen races. He doesn’t care a bit, but Verstappen hasn’t lost any of his “drive” despite his winning streak and the decisive championship.

Win. It seems to be addicting to Verstappen. “It has to do with the overall package. The car is top notch, I’m doing well, the team is doing great and we’re not making many mistakes. When a season is going so well, you just want to keep going. win a lot.” And you want to reward that, but I don’t care about stats.”

These stats speak for Verstappen at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He is the only rider to have won here three times: in 2017, 2018 and 2021. “We usually ride well here and it’s always great to be on the podium here. Our team has a lot of fans here, especially since Sergio is driving for us. The stands are full. I also enjoy their passion and support for Checo. That is very nice.”

Text, explanation and a verdict

Verstappen is less pleased about the heated discussion about the budget limit. Formula 1 teams have been allowed to spend a maximum of 145 million euros since last year, and Red Bull Racing is accused of having exceeded this sum. The affair overshadows Max Verstappen’s world title and the recently won constructors’ title in Texas.

“It’s a bit frustrating. We really feel like we’re not wrong and that some things are suddenly falling below the budget limit. But hey, it’s up to the team management and we have to accept it.”

The FIA ​​​​motorsport association comes today with text, explanation and verdict. Everything points to financial compensation and a sporting penalty, such as a limit on the time Red Bull Racing is allowed to spend in the wind tunnel.

Verstappen is relieved that the matter will now be concluded quickly. He pays as little attention as possible to critics who question his world title because of the budget affair. “The people who say and write this are a bastard anyway. They don’t care what I say or do. That is her problem. I will not waste energy on it.”