Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has silenced any rumours linking Sergio Perez to the exit door at Red Bull, with the 80-year-old having insisted that the Mexican’s seat was “never in jeopardy”.
After starting the season so positively, Perez has endured a disappointing few races.
The 33-year-old has allowed team-mate Max Verstappen to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 53 points, following disappointing performances in Spain and Monaco.
Perez finished fourth at the Spanish Grand Prix after recovering from 11th on the grid, whilst Verstappen breezed to pole position and ultimately, victory.
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In Monaco, Perez was eliminated in Q1 and started from last, as a result of crashing in the opening minutes of qualifying.
It was a similar error to the one he made in Q1 at the Australian Grand Prix, which saw his qualifying come to an early end.
Perez has ultimately failed to make Q3 three times this season, with him having then failed to finish on the rostrum at each of those venues.
When he has progressed to Q3, Perez has never finished lower than second, highlighting how important a strong qualifying is for him.
Given how dramatically his title chances have disintegrated in Monaco and Spain, there have been some rumours linking Perez to the Red Bull exit door.
Marko has spoken to Perez recently but not to warn him that he could lose his seat, with the Austrian wanting the experienced driver to “focus on his job”.
Perez is certainly not set to depart the Milton Keynes-based team anytime soon, due to him being viewed as an “important element” of the team’s foundations.
“It’s all nonsense,” Marko told F1-Insider, regarding the rumours of Perez being sacked.
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“Sergio’s place was never in jeopardy and will not be in the future either. It’s an important element in achieving our goals for this year.
“We want to finish first and second in the drivers’ championship and become the constructors’ world champion as quickly as possible. I just reminded Sergio after his rather poor performances in Miami and Monaco that he should focus on his job because he didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were in him there.
“He should therefore concentrate on himself and not try desperately to beat Max. And he should be there when Max isn’t going well. Sergio’s good race after the botched qualifying in Barcelona was again the first step in the right direction.”