Helmut Marko has said he and Red Bull “still hope” Sergio Perez can show his best form in the next two races, before they take stock of his future over the summer break.
Sergio Perez comes into the next double-header under pressure after scoring 15 points in the last six races, falling 137 points behind Max Verstappen in the standings as Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship stands at 71 points to Ferrari.
Helmut Marko: Red Bull ‘still hope’ for Sergio Perez form turnaround
Having started the season brightly and been rewarded with a new two-year contract with Red Bull in May, Perez now faces the prospect of potentially being challenged for his seat after his form has dropped off significantly, not appearing on the podium in the last seven races and not recording a finish above fourth in the last six rounds – his best finish in that time being a P7 placing in Austria with a heavily-damaged RB20.
Perez finished the last race two laps down after a qualifying incident left him beached in the gravel at Copse during qualifying for the British Grand Prix, before a strategic gamble for rain did not pay dividends and he was out on intermediate tyres in dry conditions.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Marko admitted this was far from ideal for his driver last time out.
“In qualifying, we had the disaster with Sergio Pérez,” Marko wrote in a column for Speedweek regarding the team’s last outing at Silverstone.
“The conditions were difficult, but it shouldn’t happen to him that he loses the car on the out-lap, because he has a lot of experience.
“That was the end of his race, because when you start from 19th on the grid, there’s not much more you can do. That’s on him.
“In the race, the strategy wasn’t ideal, but one thing leads to another.”
But for Hungary, meanwhile, Marko acknowledged that the team is no longer in the dominant position it once was earlier in the season.
Red Bull will be bringing an update with them to the Hungaroring, and he said they will look to use it to their advantage to restore their competitive edge.
With two races to go until the summer break, Marko confirmed they will “evaluate the situation” at Red Bull at that time – but they hold out “hope” that Perez will bring his best to the next two rounds.
“It’s obviously crucial to get into the right temperature window, but the Red Bull is still not the fastest car at the moment and we have to correct that with the update,” he said.
“Of course it helps that Red Bull Racing’s opponents are taking turns at the front, but we can’t rely on that.
“I also believe that Ferrari are no longer in the game, and we have to be able to win again under our own steam, that’s the aim.
“There are still twelve race weekends ahead of us and we can’t rely on the fact that there are always others behind and now also in front of us and that we will benefit from this.
“We also need two drivers at the front in terms of the Constructors’ Championship, and we still hope that Sergio Pérez will find his form again.
“We will evaluate the situation after the next two races during the summer break and then we will see what happens.”
