Sergio Perez told Max Verstappen could make securing his Red Bull future very difficult

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Sergio Perez is under increasing pressure to improve his results after it emerged that he could face the axe from Red Bull midway through the season.

The Mexican has been told to improve his results after picking up less than a quarter of the points in the last seven races compared to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.

Things did not get off to a good start during the British Grand Prix when a mistake during qualifying forced him to start from the back of the grid, then a strategy gamble by pitting early for the Intermediate tyres for the impending rain proved to be too early for Perez.

He was eventually lapped twice by Verstappen and the leaders, finishing a distant 17th ahead of Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu.

Amid the rumours that Perez could face being replaced by Red Bull if he does not meet certain performance clauses in his contract, former F1 driver Tiff Needell has laid out how difficult the task will be for the Mexican to beat Verstappen before the summer break when speaking on the Lovecars On The Grid.

Sergio Perez under mounting pressure to save his Red Bull seat

Perez has reportedly been told he must meet certain performance clauses before the summer break, which would mean he needs to beat Verstappen at the upcoming Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix.

Needell has outlined the numbers that would enable Perez to meet what Red Bull is asking, with it likely to be a difficult task for the Mexican.

“Since Miami he’s scored 15 points for Red Bull whereas Max has picked up 119. The manufacturers [championship] is so important for them, and the rumour has it that if he goes more than 100 points behind Max at the summer break, that is a reason for dropping him,” said Needell.

“But he’s already 137 points behind, which means he’s got to get 37 points more than Max in the next two races. So even if he wins the next two races, Max only needs more than 13 points and Perez won’t have reached that contract stainability which will give them a reason to drop him.”

Sergio Perez could be helped by Max Verstappen penalty

Perez could be helped by an impending engine penalty set for Verstappen, after he took his fourth lot of components during the Spanish GP weekend.

Red Bull admitted that he might need to take a grid penalty at the upcoming races, which should help Perez outscore him if he can qualify in a decent enough place.

Liam Lawson has been touted as a potential successor after he impressed with RB last season, while it now appears that Daniel Ricciardo might not be on the list.

Ricciardo was thought to be in the running for the seat, however an F1 Insider believes that team principal Christian Horner no longer has the power to put him in the car should they want to promote him amid a series of lacklustre results.