06/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Christian Horner admits that it is entirely possible that, if leading the race on Sunday, Sergio Perez could be ordered to yield to his Red Bull teammate.
With the title fight currently down to 12 points, every single point is precious, and while Toto Wolff talks of Senna/Prost style collisions and James Vowles warns of "catastrophic" DNFs, another issue that may need to be faced is team orders.
Coming off the back of successive podium finishes in Turkey and the United States, Sergio Perez heads into his home race as one of the favourites, not just for another podium but the top step.
However, with an eye on that 12-point gap between his teammate and Lewis Hamilton, team boss, Christian Horner is not ruling out the uncomfortable issue of ordering Perez, if leading the race, to yield to his teammate.
"Our main objective is to win both championships," said the Briton, "and both drivers know the task involved to achieve that.
"But of course so many scenarios, what-ifs, can happen," he added. "It will depend where our opponents are.
"You can't rule it out, you can't rule it in," he continued. "Our preference would be to see Checo, if Checo were in that position, to win his home race. There's no bigger result for any home driver - but as a team, we have to keep an eye on both of these championships and know what's at stake.
"This race like any other has the same amount of points attributable to it and therefore we treat it like any other race.
"Team orders are part of the sport being a team sport," he added. "The drivers are one element of the team, their contract is with the team, and the constructors' championship is where the money is paid out.
"We operate as a team and that's why team orders sometimes are necessary for the best interest of the sport. I've got no doubt you'll see more and more of that at the sharp end of this championship over the remaining five races."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Mexico City, here.