Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has reiterated when a decision will be made on Sergio Perez's future after branding him not "quick enough" in qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old was eliminated in Q1 in Nevada, meaning the six-time grand prix winner has failed to reach Q3 ten times this season.
Marko did concede Red Bull could have perhaps sent him out on a second set of fresh soft compound tyres, but highlighted the fact the team did not believe he would need them.
Perez will line-up P16 at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit whilst team-mate Max Verstappen will start from fifth.
"He just wasn't quick enough," the 81-year-old told Viaplay when discussing Perez's sixth Q1 exit in 2024.
"Maybe we [Red Bull] should have used two sets of tyres, that would have helped him.
"But we thought he would come [through Q1]. It was tight, and unfortunately now he's sixteenth."
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Perez has been under considerable pressure to save his Red Bull seat for some time now, and such results are the basis of the discontent at him retaining his drive, despite holding a contract through next season.
There are growing calls for him to be let go over the winter, with either Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda elevated from RB to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Whether Red Bull will ultimately pull the trigger remains unclear, but Marko was keen to stress that no decision has yet been made.
"After Abu Dhabi, we will sit down and go through all the possibilities we have, and then a decision will be done," the Austrian explained.
When pressed on whether Perez was at risk of losing his seat, Marko refused to get pulled in on the question, replying: "I am not saying there is a risk. I am saying that we will look at all our options and then make a decision."
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