Perez: I have not apologized to Button

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez has denied claims that he apologized to McLaren team-mate Jenson Button following the Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Mexican unwilling to take sole responsibility for their "very aggressive" wheel-to-wheel battles.

Although the former Sauber driver at one point made contact with Button and lost a segment of his front wing, he only expressed remorse to the outfit as a whole and does not believe that apologizing to the 2009 World Champion was required.

"It was said in various publications that I apologized to Jenson, but it wasn't like that," Perez explained during a Mercedes event in Mexico. "I didn't apologize to him because I didn't think it was necessary.

"We owed an apology to the team and that's what we talked about. We apologized to the team because we risked a lot and we were both very aggressive. But no, at no moment did I apologize to him [Button]."

Perez insisted that his positive working relationship with Button remains intact, having completely cleared the air with the Briton after some frosty post-race comments.

"I think that the criticism took place right after the end of the race," Perez added. "We had the chance to talk which was very good for me, the team and for Jenson."