Helmut Marko issues 13-word update on Sergio Perez future after Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying crash

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Helmut Marko has issued his instant reaction to Sergio Perez crashing in qualifying for the 2024 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix amid doubts over the Mexican’s future at Red Bull.

The 34-year-old endured yet another disappointing day this Saturday as he crashed in Q1 to bow out in P16. Max Verstappen progressed through qualifying in the sister Red Bull to take third place on the grid. McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked up the front row.

It was also the second round in a row where Perez has crashed and bowed out of qualifying in Q1. The Guadalajara native also beached his RB20 at Silverstone before Red Bull chose to start Perez in the pit lane for the British GP. He ultimately came home two laps off the lead.

Helmut Marko says Red Bull will decide on Sergio Perez’s future after the Belgian GP

Mistakes with Red Bull’s strategy after pitting too soon for intermediate tyres threw Perez’s British GP hopes away. But team principal Christian Horner also admitted at Silverstone that Perez’s form is ‘unsustainable’. He has not finished higher than P8 in the past six Grand Prix.

Now, doubts about his future hang over Perez’s head like a gloomy cloud with Liam Lawson primed to take his seat if Red Bull do make a change. Despite the team from Milton Keynes giving Perez a two-year contract extension in June, his terms feature possible break clauses.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Hungarian Grand Prix including Alonso and Hamilton’s spat

Yet another crash in qualifying for the Hungarian GP only keeps the questions coming over Perez’s future at Red Bull, too. But Marko, who is the motorsport advisor to the parent Red Bull company, states that the team will not decide on Perez’s future before the Belgian GP.

“We wait until the next race in Spa and then make a decision,” Marko told Servus TV during the Austrian broadcaster’s coverage of qualifying for the 2024 Hungarian GP this Saturday.

Sergio Perez has scored 33 of Red Bull’s last 178 points

Formula 1 will break for its summer break after the Belgian GP, which immediately follows the Hungarian GP next week. So, Perez must take Marko’s instant 13-word verdict after his crash in qualifying for the Hungarian GP as a massive warning that Red Bull might soon sack him.

Red Bull cannot afford to have Perez fighting through the field each week and leaving them single-handily fighting McLaren through Verstappen. The Woking squad have two drivers in the fight with Norris and Piastri, who have combined to outscore Red Bull in recent rounds.

Since Perez last stood on a Grand Prix podium at the Chinese GP in round five back in April, McLaren have scored 199 of their 295 points. In the same period, Red Bull have scored 178 of their 373. Perez has only offered 33 of Red Bull’s 178 points during the last seven rounds.