Formula 1 is a ruthless sport where it is every man for himself. This ruthlessness begins at home, as often, a driver’s teammate is his biggest rival. We witnessed a classic example of that in the 2022 Brazilian GP. Max Verstappen refused to give Sergio Perez his place back despite explicit team orders. This act of defiance from Verstappen stirred up a lot of drama and tension in the Red Bull garage. However, heading into the new season, Perez has claimed he will be a team player but under one condition.

Many believe the incident in Brazil was a result of Perez’s actions in the Monaco qualifying. However, reports indicated the two drivers have buried the hatchet and are moving on from both incidents. If we are to believe Perez’s comments in an interview with Fox Sports Mexico, there is truth to the reports.

“I think we are very clear about the important thing, it will be a very intense season, surely with six cars fighting for the championship, so it will be very important to work as a team in many races,” said Perez (Translated via Google)

Perez might be willing to work as a team, but he also made one condition clear. “It’s always important to work as a team and obviously if I see that I don’t receive support when I need it, I won’t give it either, that’s obvious, but I don’t expect any of that,” he added.

Read More: Reunited Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez Bury the Ghosts of the Past To Face Resurgent Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull Mexican is poised to take the fight to Ferrari and Mercedes. However, Verstappen might not need his help to win his third championship title after all.

Looking to make it three in a row, Max Verstappen makes a daunting statement after the pre-season testing

The Dutchman ran rampant in 2022 with his dominant 15 wins in the season. The RB18 was head and shoulders above the competition and after the pre-season testing in Bahrain, Verstappen believes the next-gen Red Bull challenger is even better.

Speaking to the media, Verstappen confessed, “We have definitely improved compared to last year […]. What we have put into the car this year has been clearly better, everything has been faster. I have enjoyed driving the car. From the first moment I felt confident. It has worked really well and everything we have tried has been very interesting.”

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Improving an already incredible RB18 is a daunting reality for the entire grid. Keeping this in mind, Verstappen might not need his teammate’s help to win his third championship.

However, let’s not count chickens before they hatch, as the truth will be revealed at the end of this week.