In the latest contract with Red Bull, a specific performance-related clause for Sergio Perez might lead to significant changes across both of the team's Formula 1 squads, as revealed by insiders.
Sergio Perez's struggle to perform since he signed a new deal for 2025 and 2026 has intensified, highlighted by his spin during Q1 at Silverstone and a disappointing finish at 17th place in Sunday's race.
At the moment, despite acknowledging the heightened scrutiny on Perez, Red Bull's F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko supports his potential rebound.
"We expect Sergio to pull himself together again," the 81-year-old mentioned to Sport1 following the British GP.
"He has already managed to get out of a crisis several times in the past," Marko noted. "Any other driver would not look good against Max either. Max is in the form of his life and still getting better."
Prominent media outlets, including De Telegraaf and Sky Italia, have begun to release details about an apparent "ultimatum" that 34-year-old Perez now faces.
If Perez fails to close the gap to less than 100 points behind his teammate Verstappen by the Belgian GP, the final event before the summer hiatus, his contract allows Red Bull to terminate his employment.
Presently, Perez trails by a significant 137 points.
"De Telegraaf understands from insiders that (Christian) Horner and Perez had an extensive conversation before Silverstone, during which the driver was told he needs to perform better before the summer break in order to keep his seat," reported the Dutch newspaper.
Further complications arise as Red Bull reportedly also has a binding agreement with Liam Lawson, who is set to test drive Perez's car at a 'filming day' in Silverstone this week, promising him a race seat by 2025.
This opens the door to potential adjustments, with 34-year-old Daniel Ricciardo possibly moving up from the junior team RB or being released.
At Silverstone, Marko reiterated that "all the shareholders" agree that RB should return to its roots as a "junior team."
"There are still three races until the summer break," the Austrian stated. "We will then sit down together and make decisions that go in this direction."
It appears almost certain that Lawson, aged 22, will be given a chance to race. "We will not release him," confirmed Marko, "because he will get another chance with us."
Despite the mounting pressures, Perez claims this has not exacerbated his recent performance downturn.
"No, no, that has nothing to do with it," he asserts. "I have to find the form that I know I can have. On Friday we had a very positive day," Perez continued. "Everything looked good."
Perez acknowledges that neither Horner nor Marko have hinted at a possible dismissal.
"No, nothing," he confirmed. "I have a contract and I am fully focused on my job so that I can get back to form as soon as possible. It's not something that is distracting me or anything like that.
"Now is a good time to rest and get back into shape, and hopefully that will happen in time for Hungary and Belgium - two big weekends. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are not far from unlocking two or three tenths which would change a lot of things," Perez concluded.
