Sergio Perez was left to watch the majority of qualifying from the sidelines once again on Saturday, after the Mexican was eliminated in Q1 at the British Grand Prix.
The shocking performance marked the fifth consecutive Grand Prix where Perez has failed to make it to Q3, whereas team-mate Max Verstappen is on a run of five pole positions in a row.
It was another unconvincing display by the 33-year-old, who clearly struggled in the changing conditions.
Whilst the circuit was predominantly dry, a light rain shower made the Silverstone International Circuit slippery in places.
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A late red flag with just over three minutes remaining certainly didn’t help Perez’s survival chances, especially as he sat at the end of the pit-lane for almost 10 minutes.
Red Bull made sure Perez was the first driver to exit the pits due to the fact he was on the cusp of the bottom five; however, it meant he lost valuable tyre temperature.
Despite having the best car, he couldn’t deliver a good enough lap-time once again, meaning he will have to fight through the field from P15 (qualified P16 but Valtteri Bottas was disqualified from the session).
Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has warned Perez to “get a grip” on his Saturday performances, with his last Q3 appearance having come at the Miami Grand Prix.
“Perez needs to get a grip on his qualifications,” Marko told Sky Sport.
“Usually, he drives good races, but he’s now lucky again: you can easily catch up here.
“It has always been a weakness of his. It just happens too often and he has to work on that. We’re also going to work on it, because if one driver is in front and the other 16th, something isn’t right.”
Unsurprisingly, his ongoing downward spiral has seen his future with Red Bull questioned, especially as eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo is currently in a behind-the-scenes role at the team.
Marko has quashed any suggestions that they could replace Perez though, given that he “delivers good races”.
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The Austrian also took a jibe at threatened AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries, who Marko admitted doesn’t perform well during the races.
“He is second in the standings and delivers good races, which distinguishes him from Nyck de Vries,” Marko said.
“At the moment there is no need to take action. There is also no one available to replace him.”