Red Bull outlines potentially condemning F1 ramifications to Perez form

Helmut Marko has placed Red Bull's need to avoid slipping to third in the F1 constructors' championship at the feet of Sergio Perez.

The adviser to the team has outlined the financial ramifications of the Milton Keynes squad failing to secure the runner-up spot, which it currently occupies, in this season's title race.

With five rounds to run, including this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix, Red Bull sits 40 points adrift of leaders McLaren, but only eight points ahead of Ferrari in third.

Given Perez's persistently underwhelming level of performance, as it has been for the majority of the year, falling behind the Italian team - which is the in-form outfit in F1 - is a very real possibility.

If the 34-year-old cannot better support Max Verstappen, it could cost the team in the region of seven million dollars, as confirmed by Marko.

"He [Perez] will have to get significantly closer to Max [Verstappen] so that we don't lose second place in the world championship," the Austrian told Kleine Zeitung.

"We definitely want to avoid dropping to third [in the constructors' standings], because there is also a difference of about seven million dollars. You definitely feel that in the budget."

At present, Perez has 150 points in the drivers' championship. In eighth place, and last out of the four top teams, he is 204 behind his team-mate, who leads the title fight.

To make matters worse for the Mexican driver, he is the only one of that cohort not to have taken victory this season.

Despite the situation Perez finds himself in, Marko believes the level of competitiveness amongst those four teams could be a saving grace for Red Bull.

"At the moment, four different teams can win [a race]," the 81-year-old highlighted. "That makes it unlikely that one driver will win all the races.

However, regardless of the reigning champion's predicament, Marko can see the virtue in the struggle, adding: "But we can't afford to fail, so it remains exciting."