How big is Red Bull's Perez problem?

While Max Verstappen's collision with Lando Norris unsurprisingly dominated the headlines at the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull's biggest issue at their home circuit was the continued underperformance of Sergio Perez.Verstappen was on course to complete a Sprint and race double at the Red Bull Ring before a slow second pit stop gave Norris the chance to attack him and led to a collision with eight laps to go that ruined both of their chances.Given Verstappen's Red Bull and Norris' McLaren were the two fastest cars on the track, it would be fair to assume that the most likely candidates to pick up the pieces would have been one of their team-mates. Instead, it was Mercedes' George Russell who gleefully accepted the second grand prix win of his F1 career and a first victory for Mercedes since November 2022.McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who finished second, could count himself unfortunate, having cruelly had a qualifying lap that would have put him third on the grid deleted for a track limits breach. Starting from seventh, the Australian made solid progress and was a threat to Russell in the closing stages. Trending But with Piastri chasing Russell to the chequered flag, and securing a useful haul of 18 points for the Constructors' Championship, where was Verstappen's team-mate? On the final lap, Perez was unsuccessfully attempting to pass the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg for sixth and being left to settle for seventh place, which would have been P9 if it weren't for the crash up front.Remarkably, this was Perez's best grand prix finish in the last five races, three of which have been won by Verstappen. Sergio Perez's 2024 results Event Qualifying Race Bahrain 5th 2nd Saudi Arabia 3rd 2nd Australia 6th 5th Japan 2nd 2nd China 2nd 3rd Miami 4th 4th Imola 11th 8th Monaco 16th DNF Canada 16th DNF Spain 11th 8th Austria 8th 7th New contract signed despite dismal formAfter making a very solid start to the season that left him second in the drivers' standings after six rounds on 101 points, 35 back from Verstappen, Perez has completely fallen apart.In the five rounds since Miami, Perez has scored just 15 points, leaving Verstappen to fight alone, both in terms of race strategies and the constructors' championship, in which Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are each attempting to chase Red Bull down. Verstappen has amassed 101 points during the last five rounds, while the six drivers representing the other front runners have scored from between 52 to 74 points during that time. Perez has dropped to fifth overall, with Piastri and Russell just six and seven points back, respectively.Perez's loss of form has been compared to last season when his level dropped after a strong start that included two victories and two second places in the opening five races.However, Red Bull's 2023 advantage over the rest of the field in race pace was such that even with several shocking qualifying performances, Perez only finished outside of the top six in three of the 20 races he completed. Top eight drivers' points totals in last five rounds Driver Team Points Max Verstappen Red Bull 101 George Russell Mercedes 74 Lando Norris McLaren 73 Oscar Piastri McLaren 71 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 52 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 52 Sergio Perez Red Bull 15 In 2024, with the chasing pack right on Red Bull's tail, Perez is on a streak of five races without finishing in the top six.In a decision that is being made to look more and more questionable by the week, two races into Perez's current barren run, Red Bull gave him a two-year contract extension, ending speculation that he could be replaced for 2025.If the team thought that giving Perez a new deal would relieve pressure on him and lead to better performances, they were wrong - at least to this point.Along with the highly lucrative sponsorship money Perez brings in from his home region, the other main motivating factor for keeping him in place was surely to placate Verstappen, who remains the subject of interest from rivals Mercedes. However, while Verstappen may not want a team-mate capable of challenging him for victories on a regular basis, Perez's lack of competitiveness is becoming a major issue for Red Bull.Ferrari had cut Red Bull's lead at the top of the constructors' standings to 24 points after the Monaco Grand Prix, but a disappointing run of form since for the Italian team has allowed Verstappen to almost single-handedly extend his team's advantage to 64 points.Horner: Pressure remains irrelevant of contractsHorner has defended Perez throughout his poor run of form, but during an interview with Sky Sports F1 in Austria on Saturday, appeared to hint for the first time that Perez's contract alone isn't enough to guarantee his 2025 seat."We're doing our best to support him and to fire what it is that's missing," Horner said. "The first four, five races were very competitive and whatever's happened that's caused him to drop off… At Suzuka, one of the tough