diff --git a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
index aa6a50447c32..0a256fe193ce 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
+++ b/tools/perf/Makefile.perf
@@ -84,6 +84,10 @@ ifneq ($(OUTPUT),)
 #$(info Determined 'OUTPUT' to be $(OUTPUT))
 endif
 
+# Do not use make's built-in rules
+# (this improves performance and avoids hard-to-debug behaviour);
+MAKEFLAGS += -r
+
 $(OUTPUT)PERF-VERSION-FILE: ../../.git/HEAD
 	@$(SHELL_PATH) util/PERF-VERSION-GEN $(OUTPUT)
 	@touch $(OUTPUT)PERF-VERSION-FILE