Helmut Marko URGES Sergio Perez to end his poor qualifying runs as Red Bull remains open to Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 return

After enduring three consecutive race weekends without reaching Q3, nor the podium on race day, Sergio Perez has been struggling at Red Bull. His title hopes are bleak and on the verge of disappearing altogether. His qualifying performances have raised concerns in the Red Bull garage, as Helmut Makro has urged the Mexican to step up his game at their home race in Austria.

While speaking to Servus TV, the Red Bull advisor said, “In Austria he must finally get the qualification done again.” This refers to Perez’s failures throughout the Monaco, Spanish and Canadian races. Perez has also not reached Q3 in four of eight races this year while driving the quickest car. The Austrian GP is a sprint weekend, presenting him with an opportunity to impress with two qualifying sessions.

80-year-old Helmut Marko has also opened the door to Daniel Ricciardo, evaluating his ability should the need arise for Sergio Perez to be replaced. He said, “We will have Ricciardo in the car for three days after Silverstone during the tire test and then you can evaluate where Ricciardo really stands.”

After participating in the test at the British circuit, Daniel Ricciardo will have another opportunity to test at Monza following the conclusion of the Italian Grand Prix in September of this year. Marko’s words do not guarantee the Aussie a return, but should Sergio Perez fail to deliver in upcoming races, he may lose his seat to the reserve driver.

Related: Red Bull is planning to move AlphaTauri to Milton Keynes amidst the Italian sides F1 struggles

Daniel Ricciardo wants to finish his career at Red Bull

In his first year on the sidelines, Daniel Ricciardo openly acknowledged for the first time that his ideal conclusion to his Formula One career would be a comeback to racing with the Red Bull team. He eagerly awaits a return behind the wheel and would love to do so with the team he began his career with.

The Australian said, “This for me would be like the fairytale. Honestly, the fairytale ending [would be] to finish my career here if I could have it all my own way. But we’ll see. I’ll probably have to work my way up a little bit but it’s really nice to be back here.” Ricciardo won eight races for Red Bull when he raced for them between 2014 and 2018 before he moved to Renault.

“I know I can come back as a more complete version of myself,” Ricciardo added when speaking about his intentions of returning to the grid in 2024. He was tipped to be a potential replacement for Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri earlier this year, but speculation of that has been quashed as of late.

The tire test he will conduct at Silverstone will give Red Bull a good evaluation of his current abilities in the dominant RB19, and with Red Bull being a team with a reputation for mid-season transfers, they may well consider him to replace Sergio Perez should the Mexican continue to falter.

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