Australian Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo says Sergio Perez should refuse to move over for teammate Max Verstappen at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, if asked by his Red Bull team.
Perez has his best chance of winning his home race, but faces the prospect of Red Bull asking him to let Verstappen past if the pair are running 1-2, in order to help Verstappen’s world championship chances.
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The Dutchman has a 12-point lead over Lewis Hamilton with just five races remaining, and every point is crucial, with the battle likely to go down to the last race of the season.
Ricciardo said if he was in a similar situation, he would ignore the direction from the team.
“Right now my answer is no, I would not,” he said.
“If it was the last race of the season and that position swap literally meant the world title or not, then maybe that’s a more complex decision making process.
“But I mean a home win, that’s like the thing that you dream of as a kid. If obviously you’ve earned it on track, then yeah, I feel like it should be yours for the taking.”
Perez himself thinks it’s too early to consider what might happen in Sunday’s race.
“It’s complicated,” he said. “I don’t see much point in discussing that now.”
“I think probably we will see where we are on Saturday (after qualifying) and if it’s worthwhile having that conversation.
“Right now, there’s no guarantee that we’re going to be in that position. I think it will be a great problem to have as a team. But right now, we haven’t discussed anything.”
At the recent US Grand Prix, team boss Christian Horner said Red Bull never considered pitting Perez late in the race for fresh tyres, in a bid to deprive Hamilton of the point for fastest lap.
Such a move would have cost Perez a podium finish, with Horner saying such a call would have been “brutal.”
It’s why Perez is confident he’ll be allowed to win in front of his home fans if the opportunity arises.
“I’m pretty sure that the whole team, Red Bull, everyone wants me to win this weekend,” he said.
“I think everyone is so enthusiastic, everyone at my team, the crowd. You know, it’s a very special venue for us. And yeah, it’s a very intense fight.”
“If there’s a race they want me to win, it’s this one, so I am sure I have full support from everyone in my team.”
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