Sergio Perez has described how he overcame a "nightmare" start in the Hungarian Grand Prix to rescue a seventh-place finish.
Perez started a lowly 16th on the grid following a crash in damp conditions in Q1 further fuelling the increased speculation that he could be replaced following a poor run of form that has put Red Bull constructors' championship under threat against the resurgent McLaren.
In the race, Perez's main competition was George Russell, who started 17th in the Mercedes, with the two making their way through the field after starting on the hard tyres to go long.
It paid off with the duo climbing into the points, with Perez nudging ahead of Russell by 2.4s by the flag for seventh and six points - ending just 18.4s behind team-mate Max Verstappen after his difficult afternoon.
Perez also took seventh in Austria, but it was his best result since fourth in Miami, some eight races ago as he reflected on a difficult start.
"We had no grip [at the start] and I was behind George, he overtook me and I nearly went off into Turn 2," he told media including RacingNews365.
"It was just a nightmare, and luckily people then started getting out of the way and we caught up, but the first stint was really tricky.
"In the second and third stint, we had some good pace, we managed to pass George and undercut him, and I think seventh was the maximum we could have done.
"I have to take the positives, we had a very strong Friday, we had a very strong race in terms of pace, so that is positive and I am sure that the rest will take care of itself.
"It is a matter of time, the most important thing is that the pace is there, and I really hope that for Belgium, I can be fighting back for the podium."
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Perez blocking out the noise
Pressure on Perez has been growing in recent weeks, with motorsport advisor Helmut Marko hinting that talks will be held after the Belgian Grand Prix to address Perez's future.
The Mexican penned a new two-year deal ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix June, with performance-related clauses believed to be at play.
RacingNews365 has reported that these include being no more than 100 points behind Verstappen after Belgium and no more than five places behind in the drivers' standings.
Perez cannot now meet the points clause, being 141 behind with just 25 up for grabs at Spa and has slipped to seventh in the standings after Lewis Hamilton grabbed 15 points for his third-place finish.
But Perez is blocking out the noise and focusing on his performance.
"It was positive in regards to the pace, it was just very negative with my mistake [in qualifying], so it is head down as the season is long, but the most important thing is that the pace is there," he said.
"[The critics] won't go [away], the noise has been completely shut down from my side, and I am focusing on maximising my own performance to work with the team.
"At the end of the day, the only thing that matters to me, my boys and the people working with me is giving my very best to them because that is what they deserve.
"The most positive thing is that the pace is there, it is not like a few weekends ago when we were lacking the pace."
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