Marko slates 'nonsense' Perez claims

Helmut Marko has labelled reports Sergio Perez's place at Red Bull is in jeopardy as "nonsense".

Perez had been challenging teammate Max Verstappen for the F1 Drivers' title in the opening exchanges of the campaign having secured victories in two of the first five races, including the Azerbaijan Sprint.

But in the past two races, the Mexican has thrown away his hopes of securing a maiden championship with poor qualifying performances leaving him on the back foot.

A crash in Q1 at the Monaco Grand Prix led to a scoreless race before he could only muster fourth in Spain having been eliminated in Q2.

But dismissing concerns surrounding Perez's place at the team, Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Marko told F1-Insider: “It’s all nonsense.

“Sergio’s place has never been in jeopardy and will never be in jeopardy. He is an important element in achieving the goals we have set for this year. We want to finish first and second in the Drivers’ Championship and become Constructors’ World Champion as quickly as possible.”

Marko advice

Marko has developed a reputation as being a hard taskmaster for Red Bull talent, with the team having cycled through four drivers alongside Verstappen since the Dutchman stepped up from Toro Rosso [now AlphaTauri] in 2016.

On advice he had given Perez, Marko added: "After his rather weak performances in Miami and Monaco, I just reminded Sergio that he should concentrate on his job.

“There, he didn’t take advantage of the possibilities that were in him. In the team with Max, he has an opponent who is very difficult to beat. And not just from him, but from all the drivers on the grid at the moment.

“He should therefore concentrate on himself and not try desperately to beat Max. He should be there when things aren’t going optimally for Max.

"Sergio’s good race after the failed qualifying session in Barcelona was again the first step in the right direction.”