Perez: I will not answer any more questions about the future

After a great qualifying where he was third fastest, Perez started the Belgian GP from second on the grid alongside Charles Leclerc, as Max Verstappen who was the fastest in qualifying dropped ten places for an engine penalty.

Perez lost out to a fast-starting Lewis Hamilton, and continued to drop down the order crossing the finish line eighth fastest which became seventh after George Russell, the initial race winner, was disqualified after his Mercedes was found to be underweight in post-race scrutineering.

Red Bull consultant Dr. Helmut Marko admitted he expected more from the under-pressure Formula 1 driver, while Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, spoke to the media after the race, including GrandPrix247, and commented on Perez's race.

Horner said: "Starting on the front row, our objective really was pre-race. We felt that third and fifth would be achievable. We achieved the fifth but we didn't achieve the third. So we obviously need to go through the day to understand, you know where his loss of pace was.

"Based on his starting position, we didn't envisage finishing seventh from second on the grid," the Briton added.

After a strong qualifying from Perez, Horner was asked whether the Mexican's fate is sealed after one race, he responded: "Sergio Perez has had a tough run over the last few races.

"What's so confusing for us is that the season started so well with him and then as he did a great job, a super job in qualifying yesterday, obviously we need to go through and understand the issues in the race. So we've got the time to do that and analyze that and work with him," Horner explained.

Perez on the other hand shrugged off rumors surrounding his future with Red Bull and pointed out tyre strategy as the reason behind his poor race at Spa last Sunday, pointing out the team's struggles to fend off the challenges of McLaren and Mercedes recently.

"It was a very disappointing race," he said. "It started well, I was just struggling a lot on the straights. I don't know what was going on, but I had to save battery early on in the first couple of laps, and I was just very weak on the straights, and once I managed to clear it, charge the pack a bit, I was staying there.

"But then the second stint, jumping onto the medium tyre with all the traffic behind, it just made it really, really difficult. Very tricky," he added.

"We did quite a short stint as well, so we were just out of sync. I think we were just not good with tyres today. Balance wasn't there as well, so plenty of things to analyse on our side.

"On Saturday I had a good qualifying, a good day. It doesn't change anything. I think we have too much going on in the team and a lot of things that we have to focus on, and we cannot waste any energy with all this speculation.

"This is the last time I will speak about the future, so just to make it clear for everyone, I will not be speaking anymore. I will not answer any more questions about the future," Perez insisted when asked about his seat with the team.

Horner pointed out after the race that Red Bull need a driver to score points aside from Verstappen, as McLaren are slowly closing the gap on them in the 2024 F1 Constructors' Championship.

But the question remains, regarding the driver Red Bull can bring in and start delivering points for them immediately. There natural options are Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, and Liam Lawson.

Can any of these three drivers deliver what Red Bull need? That is the tricky question Horner, Marko and Co will be trying to answer over the summer break.