Former F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg believes Red Bull must consider dropping Sergio Perez for next season after 'letting fans down' against Max Verstappen.
The Mexican has been Verstappen's closest challenger this season as the Milton Keynes-based outfit displayed dominance across the campaign.
After a promising start that took in two race wins and a Sprint victory in the opening four rounds, Perez slipped into a dismal run of form that included a streak of five races without a Q3 appearance, despite the strength of the RB19.
Teammate Verstappen broke the F1 record of consecutive wins by taking 10 in a row whilst Perez struggled, with the Drivers' championship wrapped up with six races to go when the Dutchman secured the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint.
"I feel for him because it is such a horrible situation to be in with the pressure of the world on your shoulders," Rosberg told the Sky Sports F1 {
"The social media world is criticising him so much, because all F1 fans are relying on him to keep things exciting and in way, he let F1 fans down because he made it too easy for Verstappen.
"I was in that situation with Hamilton, I was carrying the expectation of everybody on my shoulders to keep it exciting and not let it become boring with Lewis Hamilton being so dominant.
"So it is really a tough situation for him, I can really relate - he is having such a difficult time."
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He needs to find a way
Red Bull's hierarchy of Team Principal Christian Horner and Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko have repeatedly insisted the team will honour Perez's contract through to the end of next year.
But with McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari looking to close the gap to Red Bull, Rosberg suggested a change may be needed sooner.
"Qatar was a horrible weekend again for him, like so bad, with the best car. So he really needs to find a way, and really quickly.
"How he is driving now, Red Bull really need to consider [cutting ties], even for next year."
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