Helmut Marko takes aim at Sergio Perez as Red Bull star heads into make-or-break race

Helmut Marko has described Sergio Perez’s ‘unpredictable’ performances as Red Bull’s biggest problem as the reigning champions continue to be hunted down by McLaren ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

This weekend’s race is nothing short of critical for Perez, whose F1 career may hinge on two hours of racing at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The Mexican racer heads into the Belgian GP without a top-six finish in his last seven races and knows that talks about his future are pencilled in for the summer break.

Last weekend’s race in Hungary was the perfect summation of Perez’s struggles this year. A dismal qualifying session saw him lodge his RB20 in the barrier at Turn Eight before a strong comeback driver allowed him to take the chequered flag in seventh place. Without an upturn in form on Saturdays, Perez’s position is untenable.

Discussing the six-time Grand Prix winner’s form in his Speedweek column, Marko explained: “It was a typical Grand Prix weekend for Perez: unpredictable. Checo was very good on Friday and was just behind Max Verstappen, with the best long runs of all drivers as well.

"Then unfortunately, a silly mistake in qualifying followed, resulting in the 16th starting position, followed by a very strong race to seventh place. It goes up and down with him, nobody knows when he's going to shine or when he's going to make a mistake. He's just not putting in consistent, good performances."

He then added: "Max is still 76 points ahead in the Drivers' Championship, while McLaren has closed the gap to 51 points in the Constructors' Championship. Verstappen's lead is three wins, so that is sufficient, if not reassuring.

“However, we need to perform consistently and be able to win on our own again. Defending the Drivers' title will certainly be less difficult than defending the Constructors' title. As McLaren continues to score points with both drivers, our biggest problem is that we have been scoring far too few points lately with Perez.”

Perez now travels to Belgium knowing that Sunday is a make-or-break moment in his F1 career. With Verstappen expected to take a grid penalty for a new power unit, the onus will be on him to pick up the pieces and help carry out damage limitation for Red Bull.

Should Red Bull decide to pull the trigger, they have three logical options to replace the Mexican driver. Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson will all be waiting anxiously for a call from Christian Horner should Perez fail to impress at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.