Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has rubbished rumours that the side are going to slash Sergio Perez’ salary, with the Austrian insisting that there’ll be “no salary cuts”.
Following Perez’s recent poor form, plus his 125-point deficit to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, it had been reported after the Belgian Grand Prix that it’d result in the Mexican’s wages taking a dive.
The 33-year-old has struggled as of late and has only recently returned to some positive form, having gone on a run of five races without a Q3 appearance.
Perez finished second at the Belgian GP and claimed third a week prior at the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking his first back-to-back podiums since the Miami Grand Prix back in May.
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Perez had been in sensational form in Miami, as his P2 finish kept him in the title fight, having claimed two wins and two podiums from the opening five races.
Everything started to go wrong in Monaco though, where he crashed in the opening minutes of Q1.
Astonishingly, Perez failed to feature in Q3 from Monaco to the British Grand Prix, before making it to the end of qualifying in Hungary.
In the same period, Checo claimed just one podium.
On the other side of the garage, Verstappen has won every race since Miami, meaning he’s on an eight-race winning streak.
The Dutchman is set to win a third consecutive Drivers’ Championship, whilst Perez is going to have to settle for second, which would still be a personal best for the driver.
Nevertheless, Perez won’t be receiving a pay cut in 2024, which is the final year on his current contract.
“I don’t know where that’s coming from again,” Marko told F1 Insider.
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“It’s completely made up out of thin air. The contracts are precisely regulated. There will be no salary cuts.
“Max is driving in a league of his own. There is therefore no reason to think about measures affecting Perez. He still has a contract with Red Bull for 2024.”
Whether Perez remains with the team beyond 2024 is relatively unknown, with it seemingly depending on his form.