Esteban Gutierrez insists he's not in a competition with Sergio Perez but rather with 21 other drivers.
Following in his countryman's footsteps, Gutierrez is entering Formula One this season with the Sauber team, who Perez vacated at the end of last year.
It was a successful final season with Sauber for Perez, who secured three podium finishes and a long-term McLaren contract.
And although the comparisons are there to be made, Gutierrez insists his goal for this season it not to better Perez's achievements.
"That's what a lot of many people may be saying around, but my focus is not that," he said.
"My focus is to work on myself, to focus on the most important things and not to waste time only by beating one of the drivers.
"We all know that we are 22 drivers in Formula 1 and we don't need to waste the time only by competing [against] two of us.
"The fact that we are both Mexicans, it's a characteristic, we have to respect each other the same as we have to respect the other drivers. It's competitive."
