Christian Horner denied the suggestion from Sergio Perez that his Red Bull team only prioritised one driver prior to his arrival.
This is the Mexican's third season racing for the team, having been offered a lifeline in the wake of his axing from the Racing Point team now branded as Aston Martin. And since then he appears to have gone from strength to strength and gained confidence.
The 2022 season was comfortably Perez's most successful in Formula 1, though he did narrowly miss out on second place in the drivers' championship. And this campaign has started well, with Red Bull's car in a league of its own and Max Verstappen and Perez winning one race each so far.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, Perez expressed his gratitude to the team as he assessed his current position. He declared: "When I came to the team, things were very different and, basically, they were just going racing with two cars because they had to.
"I can say now that I really feel part of the team, I really feel like I have my place well respected. And I think that's something good to have as a driver. I really believe that they have full support of the team as much as Max does and, that I will have every single opportunity to win the championship as much as Max."
While team principal Horner will no doubt be pleased that his driver feels so comfortable, he is troubled by Perez's assertion that the team had favoured one racer over another in the past. Asked of his response to the Mexican's words, he replied: "That's the first I've heard him saying that.
"We always have run two cars since we entered the sport in 2005. And we always want to have the best two drivers that we can in the car, and I think it's great to see Checo doing certainly a great job now.
"In 2021 he came into the car off the back of the COVID season and at the end of a set of regulations, and he struggled with that car. Last year, he was definitely more at home within the car and two of our 17 victories he achieved. He's got out the blocks well again this year.
"But we're only two races into the season and it's an awful long, long way to go. And, as a team, we've always strived to give both drivers the best opportunity and the best equipment we can and then it's down to what they do on track.
"And that's whether it's Max and Checo, or Daniel [Ricciardo] and Max, or Daniel and Seb [Vettel], or Mark [Webber] and Seb, or we could even go back to David Coulthard and Mark Webber. So that's the way we've always rolled and it's down to what they do on the circuit at the end of the day that counts."
