F1 News: Red Bull Advisor Defends Sergio Perez's Seat On The Team Despite Ongoing Contract Concerns

Red Bull's advisor, Helmut Marko, clarifies the speculations surrounding Sergio Perez's position in the team.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has come to Sergio Perez's defence amid the ongoing questions surrounding his contract with the Austrian team. 

The Mexican driver is currently in contract with Red Bull until the end of 2024 after signing a two-year extension last year. Perez had a good start to the 2023 season with him even feeling in contention for the championship win against his teammate Max Verstappen after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

However, after making some mistakes, potentially buckling under the pressure, Perez is now 53 points behind Verstappen. There has been a huge amount of speculation over the course of the season so far surrounding Perez's future with the team, with some eyeing up potential replacements in Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda. 

Marko has now come to defend the Red Bull driver, explaining to F1 Insider:

"

It's all nonsense. His seat has never been in danger and won't be

.

"He is an important link to achieve our goals. Becoming first and second in the drivers' championship and winning the constructors as soon as possible."

The motorsport advisor did go on to extend some advise to Perez saying that he needs to focus on his own races instead of the battle with Verstappen. He continued:

"He needs to focus on himself and not beat himself up trying to beat Max. He has to be there when something happens to Verstappen. His strong race after the disappointing qualifying in Spain was a good start."

Verstappen is currently leading the drivers' standings with 170 points followed by Perez with 117 points and Fernando Alonso with 99 points. Red Bull has incredibly won every race of the season so far, and so are obviously leading the constructors' standings with 287 points. Mercedes managed to overtake Aston Martin in the standings in Spain so are now sitting in second with 152 points ahead of the British team with 134 points.