Sergio Perez's dad slammed the "lie" that his son is wingman to Max Verstappen and insists there is "no favouritism" at Red Bull.
In his first season with the team, Perez was happy to play second-fiddle to Verstappen and support the Dutchman's title bid against Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman said he was a "legend" for helping keep the Mercedes driver behind him with some excellent defending in the final race of that 2021 campaign.
But as he has settle in more, Perez's ambitions have grown. And that development has coincided with cracks beginning to show in the relationship he has with Verstappen.
In Brazil last year it became obvious that all was not well when Verstappen refused team orders to let Perez past – sparking an angry reaction from the latter. And there was also a dispute over team radio communication at the race in Saudi Arabia last month.
Even though some fans and pundits assert that Verstappen is still the priority at Red Bull, Perez's father Antonio is certain that is not the case. "That's a lie," was his blunt response when posed that question in an interview with Marca.
He added: "Let's be clear. Red Bull is a brand that costs many billions of dollars more than Checo and Max. It is a professional team that wants to win with its two drivers, they want to have lap one from practice one and they want their two drivers to be first and second.
"There is no favouritism for anyone – it is all speculation. Red Bull has the two best tigers in the same cage. If they were not at the same level, what is happening would not exist."
Perez is 33 years old, but his father insists he remains a long-term option for Red Bull. He added: "Checo is doing his job excellently and will be in F1 for the next 10 years. After everything he lost to what was found, we have a blessing – Checo no longer had a job two years ago and now there is this new stage that Red Bull has opened for him.
"Checo is in the eyes of the world. Today he is one of the great ambassadors of any brand worldwide. This is thanks to the support of Red Bull... What he had done before were great achievements but nothing to do with the support of Red Bull. Being in the best team in the world puts you in the eyes of the world."
