Perez: More respect between me and Verstappen in F1 than people think

Perez was hailed as a perfect team player during the team's 2021 campaign, including a stout defence against Lewis Hamilton in the controversial Abu Dhabi season finale.

But as the Mexican became more competitive compared to Verstappen in 2022, the internal battle intensified.

It culminated in Verstappen's refusal to follow team orders and help Perez in Brazil, due to an earlier disagreement between the two, with Perez responding: "It shows who he really is."

The incident, played down by Red Bull, caused a stir at the time and fuelled suggestions that Perez and Verstappen don't get on particularly well.

But in Australia, Perez claimed that there is more mutual respect between himself and the Dutchman than people might believe.

"I'm here to do the best possible thing for myself as well [but] to be honest, we've got a lot more respect for each other than people might think out there," he said.

"Inside it is a great atmosphere with the team, there is a very high level of respect between each other in the team with all the engineers from their side or my side.

Pole man Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, arrives in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

"I think we are both mature enough to know what's right and what's wrong. As long as that keeps being the case, then I don't expect anything to change."

With Red Bull miles ahead of the competition in 2023, Verstappen and Perez are each other's only rival.

Perez says his new-found consistency in the RB19 is a great asset, but acknowledged he will need to start beating Verstappen too, who is the "hardest driver" to defeat.

Verstappen won two of F1 2023's opening three races, with Perez claiming the remaining event in Saudi Arabia after Verstappen started down in 15th.

"Of course, if I want to win the championship, I have to beat Max weekend in and weekend out, and keep this level of consistency throughout the season," he explained.

"It's all about this season's consistency, you know. "You can win 15 races, but if in the other races, you just crash and have DNFs and so on, it is not enough. It's just reaching that level of consistency and taking it race by race.

"There is no doubt that there is no driver on such a form as Max. Together with the team as well with the car he is definitely the hardest driver to beat.

"It will require the maximum out of me to bring my A-game every single weekend."