Perez’s expected upturn “didn’t materialise” after Mexico Q1 exit

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has been clear that Sergio Perez’s current performance is not good enough, following a dismal qualifying result at Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

Not only was Perez outqualified by Max Verstappen for the 23rd time in 24 sessions this year (sprint qualifying included), but he also suffered the ignominy of being eliminated as early as Q1, finishing 18th with an eight-tenth deficit on his team-mate – a setback the Mexican blamed on braking issues.

In a context where Perez’s father Antonio has told Mexican sports newspaper Record that he remains convinced Sergio will become a world champion eventually, Marko reacted on Sky Germany: “Well, I honour his father’s optimism, but…

“I heard him on the radio complaining a lot about brake problems. We’ll have to see what was going on. But the hoped-for upturn that we all expected unfortunately didn’t materialise.”

Perez is already under contract with Red Bull for 2025, but his poor results – 47 points scored in the latest 13 grands prix, compared to 218 for Verstappen – mean there is constant speculation over his future.

Although Red Bull chiefs have reaffirmed time and again that the veteran had the second seat for next year, team principal Christian Horner recently stating Perez “is currently our driver for 2025” does sound like there is scope for change.

Liam Lawson’s promotion to RB, replacing Daniel Ricciardo until the end of the season, certainly happened with a view to evaluating the youngster for the near future.

Marshals remove the damaged car of Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, from a barrier after a crash at the end of Q2

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

However, while his RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is keen to grab the second Red Bull drive himself, he is yet to convince the Anglo-Austrian squad bosses of his worth, and his Q2 accident at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez won’t do him any favours.

Marko called the incident “an unnecessary crash”, given Tsunoda risked damaging the VCARB 01’s new floor and being relegated to the back of the grid if parc ferme needed to be breached.

Asked if the Japanese driver was too unstable, Marko added: “Well, he had a spin in Austin and now this crash in qualifying.

“We thought he had stabilised, but apparently now, when the pressure comes from Lawson, it’s noticeable.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Hermann