Sergio Perez ready to fight for race victory at Imola on Sunday

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has said that he and Max Verstappen are free to fight and so he will be aiming to challenge for victory if he can this afternoon at Imola.

The Mexican driver did well to climb into the top three during Sprint on Saturday but could not close in on eventual winner Max Verstappen and second-place man Charles Lecerc in the Ferrari.

Indeed, Verstappen and Leclerc were once again battling it out at the front, as they have so often this season so far, though it is Leclerc who has the obvious advantage in the title race at the moment.

The Monegasque’s lead in the Drivers’ standings has sparked some to suggest it might already be time for Ferrari to call in team orders and get Carlos Sainz to act as a rear-gunner, though team principal Mattia Binotto has said that it is too early in the campaign for such a decision to be made.

And, in keeping with that, Sergio Perez has revealed that Red Bull are adopting the same mantra, with him revealing he and team-mate Max Verstappen are free to race one another.

“Yes it’s very early to have anything in place, it’s only race four and it’s in the interests of the team to have both cars up there,” told gathered media including Give Me Sport at Imola post-Sprint on Saturday..

“We’re free to fight.”

Perez proved a very capable team-mate last season in helping Max Verstappen challenge for the championship but, of course, the Mexican has his own ambitions and will want to try and fulfil them this season.

Perez has three more points than Verstappen at this stage of the season, too, so it certainly would be surprising to say the least if he had already been asked to back the Dutchman up instead of going for victory himself.