Sergio Perez issues ‘done and dusted’ Red Bull verdict with promise made

Sergio Perez has insisted that the topic of his Red Bull future is “done and dusted” after signing a a new two-year contract last month and is adamant he will “turn things around” after a poor run of form.

The Red Bull driver exited qualifying in Q1 at Silverstone after becoming beached in the gravel at Copse, losing control of his RB20 on slick tyres on a drying track, leaving him down in 19th on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Sergio Perez: ‘I have a Red Bull contract and I will turn things around’

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

This latest early exit drew a shake of the head from team principal Christian Horner on the pit wall as the cameras cut to him, with Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen also gathering floor damage by going off at the same corner in a treacherous Q1 session on Saturday. Verstappen recovered to eventually qualify fourth.

Despite his future being contractually secure with Red Bull until F1 2026, pressure is believed to be growing on Perez.

PlanetF1.com reported on Friday at Silverstone that Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko is not fully ruling out the prospect of a potential seat swap with Daniel Ricciardo.

As for qualifying at Silverstone, with the track drying through Q1 and the drivers making the switch to slick tyres, Perez explained what happened to his car as he dropped himself into the gravel.

“Really, really tricky, very difficult, especially in the beginning,” Perez said of qualifying to media including PlanetF1.com after the session.

“As I was trying to warm up the tyres going into Turn 9 [Copse] when I downshifted, I basically lost the rear end quite badly and I went out of the track on cold tyres, and it was completely sunk of water outside of the track, so I just ended up going into the gravel.

“I couldn’t stop the car, I couldn’t go straight – a very unfortunate incident.”

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When asked if the reported pressure on his seat at Red Bull had anything to do with his early qualifying exit, Perez replied adamantly that his full focus remains on the job at hand, to put himself in the best position possible.

“No, no, that has nothing to do with it,” he said.

“I’m fully focused on my job, I’m fully focused on getting the performance out of myself, the form that I know what I can be and yesterday we had a very positive day – things were looking in the right direction.

“So head down and it’s a matter of time before we turn around the situation.”

He was asked later if he had heard anything from Horner or Marko regarding the speculation over his future, but Perez replied that his new two-year deal with the team means he is “fully committed” to both Red Bull and his Formula 1 career.

On top of that, he remains fully confident that he will get his form back on track, and that the topic of his future is “done and dusted.”

On if he had had any contact with the two senior Red Bull figures over his form, he responded: “No, nothing, but I have a contract and I’m fully focused on my job, which is to deliver tomorrow, so I don’t have to think [about] anything else.

“The most concerned about it is myself, so I want to get back to my form as early as possible – and I’m just fully focused on my form.

“Of course, I’m fully committed to the team, I’m fully committed to my career. I have a contract with the team and I will turn things around.

“It’s not something that distracts me or anything like that.

“It’s something that is done and dusted and I just want to get back to my form and focus on the important things.”

Read next: Max Verstappen’s British GP admission with floor damage cost revealed