Sergio Perez told what he must change to stay in F1 after disappointing Austrian Grand Prix

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It is no secret that Sergio Perez has endured a difficult last few races since signing his contract extension at Red Bull.

The last time the Mexican finished inside the top five was at the Miami Grand Prix, while in the last five race weekend he has only qualified inside the top 10 on two occasions.

The average qualifying lap time deficit to teammate Max Verstappen has now increased to 0.6 seconds, the largest margin since he joined Red Bull in 2021.

Despite his contract for 2025, several other drivers in the Red Bull stable could still put pressure on the Mexican for his seat in 2026. F1 pundit Davide Valsecchi believes Perez must do more to justify his seat when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

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Davide Valsecchi tells Sergio Perez what he must change to stay in F1

Perez’s race in Austria was another lacklustre performance, largely brought on by contact between him and Oscar Piastri in the opening laps. The collision caused significant damage to the sidepod of his RB20, affecting his straight-line performance and ability to progress.

His lap times in qualifying were still far off what Verstappen could achieve, which is where Valsecchi thinks he must improve or else he could find his seat at risk again.

“I was waiting for something different from Perez. It was the day, with Verstappen’s problem, to step up.

“I hope for him to be brilliant in one of the next races because I know that he’s able to do better. This is not enough. Seven-tenths per lap slower than your teammate? It’s not the gap that give you the chance to stay in Formula 1 for much longer.

“It’s trouble, but these guys, everyone dreams to arrive in the top 20 in F1. Seven-tenths, I’m sorry, it’s too much, it’s the fact. And I’m really sorry for him.”

Austrian GP a nightmare for Sergio Perez

Speaking after qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, David Coulthard branded it a ‘nightmare’ for the Mexican when he was the slowest out of the top teams.

He also pointed out that since he made his £215k-a-week contract extension, Perez has not “been at the races” compared to Verstappen.

For Red Bull this puts their Constructors’ Championship defence at risk, considering they are only 64 points ahead of Ferrari and a further 87 points ahead of McLaren.

If either team improve their fortunes in the next run of races, it could prove to be crucial for Red Bull while they struggle to improve their fortunes. Team principal Christian Horner believes Perez’s ability to perform under pressure is one of his strengths, but doubts are starting to creep in over whether it was the right decision to retain him for the future.