Alonso ignores Perez request: 'We will love to lead in Miami'

Fernando Alonso says he will ignore Sergio Perez's Formula 1 request of taking the start of the Miami Grand Prix easy and would "love" to lead.

Perez and Alonso will share the front row for the second time this season in Miami, with the Aston Martin driver taking the lead at the start in Saudi Arabia.

In Miami, Perez has a golden chance to lead the Drivers' standings for the first time with title rival and current points leader Max Verstappen only down in ninth following a mistake in qualifying and then being caught out by the Charles Leclerc red flag.

Should Perez win the race, he will climb to the top of the points, regardless of what Verstappen does - but Alonso is not set to make things easy for the Red Bull driver.

Alonso rejects Perez request

When asked by media, including RacingNews365.com, who his biggest challengers for the Miami GP win are, Perez responded: "Well, at the moment these two guys [Alonso and Sainz] obviously."

"I'm mainly focusing now on getting a good start and being able to manage our first stint - and I think it will be really helpful for all of us to be able to do that.

"It is a very long race, and still, a lot can happen."

If Alonso does not win the Grand Prix, he will break the 10 year barrier between wins, with his last in F1 coming on May 12th, 2013 in Spain - and he is not optimistic of ending that run - but promised Perez he would be attacking on the opening lap.

"I don't think that we have to target a win, especially after how the weekend went. I think even the podium is going to be difficult, but we [will] do our race.

"We've been doing this the whole season, we are in a privileged position, we never expected to be here. So, every lap we do, every race lap that we will do tomorrow in these kind of positions is a gift at the moment.

"So, I think the team is enjoying it. We will try to pass Checo into Turn 1, because we love to lead the race, at least for a few laps. And after that, it’s just… we will end up in the position we deserve.

"If it’s P5, it’s going to be P5. If it’s P7, P7. If it’s another podium, it will be fantastic. But I think it's going to be a tough race."