Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has rubbished reports that Sergio Perez could be set to be sacked after a disappointing set of results in Monaco and Spain. Perez had started the season in fine form, winning in both Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
With Red Bull far ahead of their competitors, Perez was under pressure to not let Max Verstappen run away with things early in the campaign. But the Mexican was initially able to take the fight to his team-mate with hope he'd maintain his challenge at the top.
However, disaster struck in Monaco when Perez crashed out in qualifying which ultimately left him unable to finish inside the points. More issues followed in Barcelona with Perez surprisingly unable to get out of Q2.
He was able to mount a comeback to finish fourth in the race, but he's now fallen 53 points behind Verstappen. It's led to some question marks on Perez's own future at Red Bull and whether they would look to replace him midway through the season.
But Marko insists Red Bull are still very happy with Perez and there are currently no plans to sack him. "It's all nonsense," Marko told F1-Insider.
"Sergio's place was never in jeopardy and will not be in the future either. It's an important element in achieving our goals for this year.
"We want to finish first and second in the drivers' championship and become the constructors' world champion as quickly as possible. I just reminded Sergio after his rather poor performances in Miami and Monaco that he should focus on his job because he didn't take advantage of the opportunities that were in him there.
"He should therefore concentrate on himself and not try desperately to beat Max. And he should be there when Max isn't going well. Sergio's good race after the botched qualifying in Barcelona was again the first step in the right direction."
Perez will be hoping to get back on the podium in the Canadian Grand Prix next week.