Sergio Perez given clear Belgian GP target in potential final Red Bull race

Helmut Marko has given Sergio Perez the target of finishing ahead of McLaren in the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of what could prove to be his final F1 race for Red Bull.

Perez produced his best qualifying performance for some time at Spa, coming third behind Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in a rain-affected session.

Helmut Marko sets Sergio Perez Belgian GP target as Red Bull axe looms

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

With Verstappen serving a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine, Perez will start second on the grid – a potentially advantageous position at the Spa circuit, where drivers can benefit from a tow on the first lap.

Perez’s encouraging performance has done little to silence growing doubts over his future, having finished no higher than seventh across the last seven races.

PlanetF1.com understands that a clause contained in Perez’s contract will allow Red Bull to drop him during the upcoming summer break if he is in excess of 100 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings, with the gap currently standing at 141.

With Perez’s seat in serious jeopardy, PlanetF1.com revealed shortly before qualifying in Belgium that Red Bull junior team VCARB will stage a so-called ‘shootout test’ at Imola next Wednesday to compare regular driver Daniel Ricciardo and reserve driver Liam Lawson.

It is thought that whoever impresses most in the test could replace Perez for the rest of F1 2024.

Speaking after qualifying, Marko praised Perez for being “involved in all sessions” at Spa having fallen early in several qualifying sessions over recent months.

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And he set him the target of finishing ahead of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are considered Red Bull’s main threat despite a poor qualifying session leaving them fourth and fifth on the grid respectively.

Marko told Sky Germany : “I hope that this [result] will have a lasting effect.

“He’s ahead of the two McLaren cars and if he can bring that home, that would be very, very good.”

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com, Perez hinted that he intends to remain with Red Bull for the rest of the F1 2024 season, referencing both the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 25 and the final race in Abu Dhabi scheduled for December 8.

Asked how satisfied he was with his qualifying showing given the uncertainty surrounding his future, Perez said: “From my point of view, it doesn’t change anything.

“I’ve always said it’s not where we are now, it’s how you ride the waves and where we finish in Abu Dhabi.

“There are a lot of drivers that haven’t been able to maximise their performance lately but obviously there’s continuity on my side, it has been quite a bit higher.

“It doesn’t change anything from my point of view. I think tomorrow is a new day, a new opportunity.

“It would have been the same if I was knocked out in Q2. Tomorrow’s a new opportunity to do better and it’s the way I see it. It’s tomorrow what really counts.

“And if I don’t have a good race tomorrow, I will try to have a good one in Zandvoort.

“But it’s how it is, this is a sport and sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you have to fight and nothing goes in your direction, but I think it’s just the nature of this [sport].”

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