Helmut Marko’s surprising verdict on Sergio Perez’s last-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix

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Red Bull Racing went into the Mexico City Grand Prix knowing they needed a strong performance from under-pressure driver Sergio Perez.

The Constructors’ Championship has slipped away from Red Bull over the past few races, and suddenly McLaren and Ferrari are now ahead of them in the standings.

Max Verstappen has done everything he can to try and protect their lead and despite being heavily penalised during the Mexico City Grand Prix, still has a 47-point lead over Lando Norris.

However, Sergio Perez has let the side down and despite Red Bull apologising to Perez for the behaviour of his car earlier in the season, he’s failed to drive around any of the issues he’s been presented with.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

A Q1 exit at this home race was disastrous, although Oscar Piastri proved that conditions were very tricky for everyone as he was also eliminated early in the session.

Perez then received a penalty for a false start and his battle with Red Bull-linked driver Liam Lawson proved costly.

He picked up significant damage and after a trio of pit stops, the 34-year-old finished last after failing to steal the fastest lap off Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was speaking to Sky Germany after the race about Perez’s performances.

Marko has been critical of Perez in the past and has been ruthless when it comes to other drivers underperforming at Red Bull.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko? Everything to know

However, Marko was much more lenient on Perez on this occasion, blaming external factors for his poor performance.

Helmut Marko gives his verdict on Sergio Perez’s disastrous Mexico City Grand Prix

Asked about Perez’s display, Marko said: “We are brother teams and Lawson should not drive as hard as he did. He reacted too strongly.

“You can’t talk about his performance because his car was so damaged. So there was no way he could drive on the limit.

“And also the performance of the car was terrible. I would say that we could make the car work on the hard tyre or the medium tyre.

“And then Checo, with the collision with Lawson it was a lot of damage. He lost about 60 points of downforce. So the car was far from competitive.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

“It was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened… However, his start was sensational, it was great. More annoying is the penalty, and then the unnecessary collision, where I see Lawson as more guilty.

“We’ll see what happens in the next four races as we said.

“We said he has a contract and we’ll see what happens in the future. And this race was very, very unlucky. And with the damage, you can’t judge his performance.”

However, when asked to clarify Perez’s future, Marko admitted: “It’s all quite open, yes.”

Mexico City Grand Prix fans will be furious with Liam Lawson after Sergio Perez incident

The toughest battle for Perez was with Lawson and they went wheel-to-wheel for several laps.

Lawson gave Perez a gesture as he passed him on the main straight which wouldn’t have been welcomed by those in attendance as they willed their hometown hero on.

His battle with Lance Stroll was clumsier and while he wasn’t penalised, it wasn’t the cleanest piece of racing from the Mexican driver.

Perez is adamant that he’ll still be on the grid next year, but Red Bull know that they need a serious improvement from the 34-year-old, otherwise, they can write off being contenders in the Constructors’ Championship already.