Helmut Marko suggests theory for Sergio Perez’s improved F1 form

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that Sergio Perez’s improved F1 form is because he is fighting to secure a new contract.

Qualifying proved to be Perez’s main weakness last season as his position at Red Bull came under increasing pressure but the Mexican has stepped up his performances in 2024.

Perez ran teammate Max Verstappen close in the battle for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, missing out by just 0.066 seconds as Red Bull locked out the front row.

And Marko hinted that Perez’s improved form could be because “next year’s contracts are at stake”.

“Last year [in Japan] in particular was Sergio's worst race. Everything went wrong then, so I think it's particularly satisfying for him,” Marko told Sky Germany.

"You can see he can do it. But perhaps it also plays a role that next year's contracts are at stake - this year much earlier than usual. That also seems to be very motivating.

"Normally we don't talk about driver decisions at all in April. But somehow, the whole thing seems to have moved forward a lot. But it's still too early for us. We will certainly wait some time before we make a decision.”

After qualifying, Perez explained that his confidence is returning because he is making fewer changes to his car.

“Like Carlos [Sainz Jnr] would say, we stopped inventing,” he said.

“We were playing around with the car far too much and just going through it and I think now we have a much better base,” he explained. “We are a lot happier and the weekends just progress.”

He added: “When we came here last year we were at the stage of our season where anything was working. When you are in that, you just go around circles and circles.

“Then we found out in the end, towards the end of the year, that it was better [to] just step back and don’t try to chase it too much with the set-up because then you start compromising other things.

“I think that’s been the case for this year. So I’m a lot more comfortable, a lot more happier and the confidence is slowly coming back.”