Helmut Marko’s stark Sergio Perez warning as Red Bull ‘unrest’ fear raised

Helmut Marko says Sergio Perez is “not bad”, he’s just “slower” than Verstappen

Helmut Marko has bluntly told Sergio Perez that his Red Bull contract is of little value when in his current F1 2024 form, fearing “unrest” within Red Bull employees whose bonuses risk being directly impacted.

Perez began the F1 2024 campaign in strong form, Red Bull at that point looking nailed on to secure a fresh title double. However, that achievement no longer looks so certain, with rivals closing in and Perez struggling to escape an alarming slump.

Helmut Marko makes need for Sergio Perez improvement clear

Perez put pen to paper on a new multi-year Red Bull contract ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, though that has done little to inspire a return to form, with speculation having since returned regarding Perez’s future with the team.

Red Bull senior advisor and driver programme boss Marko, speaking with Kleine Zeitung, admitted that the Hungarian and Belgian GPs to come before the summer break are “crucial” for Perez, whose 15 points scored over the last six races are “clearly not enough.”

“Let’s see if he can find his form again,” Marko said.

And Perez had better hope that he can, as Marko suggested that recently signed Red Bull contract is of little value if Perez does not step it up.

Marko made a fresh reference to “performance clauses” in Perez’s deal, with PlanetF1.com understanding that such a clause exists which would allow Red Bull to make a driver swap. The clause is reportedly dependent on Perez being 100 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen at the summer break. The gap currently stands at 137.

“A contract doesn’t help if the performance isn’t right,” Marko stressed. “Every Formula 1 contract has certain performance clauses.”

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While Red Bull started F1 2024 in dominant fashion, Verstappen winning four of the opening five races, he has claimed just three victories since with the likes of Mercedes and McLaren whittling away their performance advantage. Ferrari are hoping to return to the form which saw Charles Leclerc win in Monaco after their Barcelona upgrade setback.

Red Bull remain 71 points ahead of Ferrari at the top of the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren another seven further back, but if Perez does not ramp up his contribution then this buffer could soon disappear.

This therefore had Marko pointing to an additional impact of Perez’s struggles, with the bonuses which employees receive based on Red Bull’s Constructors’ Championship finishing position. Marko therefore fears “unrest”.

“It also brings unrest to the workforce,” he said. “The bonuses paid to employees are based on their position in the Constructors’ Championship, which is the most important thing for them.”

And with Verstappen doing the bulk of Red Bull’s points scoring, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri said his team do fancy their chances of a Constructors’ title push.

“I think we’re confident in our whole team, drivers, car, everyone around us. I think we’ve got a lot of confidence,” Piastri told media personnel in a pre-Hungarian GP press conference.

“We’ve scored the most points of any team in the last six races and we’re making up ground on everyone around us.

“Obviously, the gap to Ferrari now in the Constructors’ Championship is very small. We’re reducing it to Red Bull.

“Of course, at the moment, it’s really only Max scoring most of the points there. I think we can’t take for granted that it’s always going to be like that. And we need to still be maximising what we can do to score the most points for both cars. But I think we’re definitely confident that we’re in the fight.

“I think it would be incredibly pessimistic to not be optimistic of our chances later in the year.

“We know it’s not going to be an easy task, of course, and things can turn around very quickly, but we’re making the right moves at the moment and making good progress. So I think we’re definitely in the fight.”

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