Sergio Perez’s media pen behaviour in Hungary suggests he ‘knows’ his future at Red Bull

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The Hungarian Grand Prix wasn’t a make-or-break race for Sergio Perez but it was very close to heading that way after qualifying.

The last thing Sergio Perez or Red Bull needed was for the 34-year-old to make another mistake leading up to the race.

However, Perez pushed too hard going into turn eight on a damp track and where other drivers momentarily lost control, Perez found the barrier.

It meant he was once again forced to prepare for a recovery drive after his fourth Q1 exit in the last six races.

Perez once again could only climb as high as 7^th by the time the chequered flag flew at the Hungarian Grand Prix, adding just six points to his and Red Bull’s tally.

Heading into the final race before the summer break in Belgium, Perez only sits above George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship out of the drivers from the top four teams.

Were it not for Russell’s unfortunate retirement from the British Grand Prix where he started on pole position, he would be bottom of the pile out of the drivers from the leading manufacturers.

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Sergio Perez’s mood in the media pen at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Covering the race for Channel 4, journalist Lawrence Barretto spoke to Perez in the media pen after the Grand Prix.

Plenty of drivers made their feelings known about the race weekend by talking to the media after 70 frustrating laps of the Hungaroring.

Daniel Ricciardo called it one of the worst races of his F1 career, while his old teammate Max Verstappen’s comments were deemed disrespectful after he criticised Red Bull’s calls throughout the race.

Barretto got the sense that Perez was already aware of his Red Bull fate based on his body language and comments following a spirited drive for near the back of the grid to score points.

While team principal Christian Horner was positive about Perez in the media, he will know that he needs a very strong race at Spa to improve his chances of surviving until after the summer break.

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Red Bull faced with summer break decision over Sergio Perez’s future

After speaking to Perez, Barretto said: “Well, Checo’s pretty sad because even though he fought back all the way to P7, he was really timid.

“I think he was complaining that the car didn’t feel so good and there was something wrong with it after all of that damage he sustained in qualifying.

“It’s just kind of starting to feel like he knows that it’s just not going recover at this minute in time, so he was definitely sad.”

Red Bull have inserted clauses into Perez’s contract allowing them to change their driver line-up ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix if they wish.

Their dwindling lead in the Constructors’ Championship makes a change seem more and more likely and Perez’s low mood in the media pen suggests he knows he needs to do more to save his seat.

Daniel Ricciardo is expected to replace Perez at Red Bull should he be let go, with Liam Lawson then handed the chance to race alongside Yuki Tsunoda at RB.

Their line-ups could then change again ahead of 2025 with Ricciardo still not signed up to a contract beyond the end of this year.

Verstappen may have already given Ricciardo a heads-up on how this year’s Red Bull drives which may prove useful.

The pair could be reunited again after teaming up several years ago when Verstappen was first promoted from Toro Rosso.