Perez wary of rival teams disrupting Verstappen battle

Sergio Perez admits that the possibility of rival teams disrupting his championship battle with Max Verstappen is a concern.

The opening five races of the 2023 F1 season have been dominated by Red Bull, with Verstappen and Perez claiming three and two race wins respectively.

Their closest challenger, Fernando Alonso, sits 30 points behind second-placed Perez in the World Championship standings, while Verstappen leads his teammate by 14 points.

The squad hold a 122-point advantage over Aston Martin in the Constructors' table, and Mercedes and Ferrari are further back in third and fourth places.

Despite this, Perez remains wary of the threat that other teams could pose should they progress during the season.

Perez on impact of other teams on Verstappen duel

When asked by RacingNews365.com if he is concerned that Mercedes and Ferrari could come between himself and Verstappen should they improve, Perez explained: "Yeah. The margins are very close, particularly on Saturdays.

"On Sunday, it depends a bit circuit to circuit, so it's important not to make mistakes."

Whilst the title battle so far has looked to be between Verstappen and Perez, the Mexican does not believe that Red Bull will have to change their approach to letting the two drivers race should other teams become involved in the fight.

"I think the level of respect between Max, myself, the engineers, is really high, although people might think differently, but it's extremely high," Perez said.

"And I'm sure that the team feels super confident to let us race as hard as we've been doing."