Sergio Perez said he "could not care less" about rumours surrounding him being potentially replaced at Red Bull. The Mexican suffered another qualifying setback during the British Grand Prix weekend, when a mistimed tyre change during a Red Flag caused him to sit at the end of the pit lane during the closing stages of Q1. When he got back on track, his tyres were not up to temperature, and Perez eventually tumbled down the lap charts to finish P16. After the disqualification of Valtteri Bottas, he started the race P15, and went on to finish in P6. Max Verstappen made a quip at the expense of his teammate, while rumours circulated surrounding his future. Perez responded after the race about allegations that he could be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo to media, including RacingNews365.com : "I couldn't care less, if I'm honest. I've been in Formula 1 for 13 years and I've seen it all. "I'm not worried about any of that, I've mainly focused on getting my season on track and making sure I keep enjoying this." When asked if he had the full support of Team Principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko, the Mexican was clear: "I have full support from Helmut, and Christian, the whole team is fully backing me. "They know what I can do, they know my potential and they're fully behind me."
Perez needs to 'figure out' qualifying failures
Marko said Perez needs to "get a grip" after his latest qualifying exit, as it is preventing Red Bull from scoring maximum points on a race weekend. When asked if the car had changed or if it was specific to his driving, Perez responded: "With my driving and how I am approaching the Saturdays, how we're doing it as a team, we just have to figure it out. The Mexican acknowledged that he struggles in the tricky changeable conditions, when timing and tyre choices are critical. He explained: "The last qualifiers that I've had [which were] bad, they've been on changeable conditions when a lot of detail comes into play. "I'm not too concerned. I think we had a great Friday in terms of pace, we just have to sort out the qualifying and we'll be fine. "At the end of the day, it only matters where we finish in Abu Dhabi so it's a long season still."
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