Sergio Perez has successfully reached the final phase of digging his own grave. He crashed out in Q1 at the Hungarian GP qualifying by clipping a wet curb and spinning into the barriers, making it two in a row after a similar British GP incident. This is a major problem for Red Bull, with both McLaren drivers consistently outpacing them. While the Mexican will start P16 after heavily damaging his RB20, his potential replacement Daniel Ricciardo boosted his VCARB to P9. This has increased the likelihood of a summer break swap and the Honey Badger already knows what might be in store for him.

Coming into Hungary, Perez was low on confidence, scoring only 15 points in the last 6 races, including three weekends with 0 points. After his qualifying crash in Hungary, both Helmut Marko and Christian Horner were visibly upset. Marko reiterated that Red Bull will wait for the Belgian GP results to make a driver decision. Horner echoed him, emphasizing how “it is clear that we cannot keep walking one-legged.” Post-qualifying, even Daniel Ricciardo brought the summer break deadline into focus.

“I know there are two races before the (summer) break and they’re important, as important as ever, probably,” he said, subtly hinting at the imminent swap. “So, yeah, just using that to give me a little bit more,” he added. After this statement, the VCARB driver’s grin widened into his million-watt smile as he predicted an ever-better showing in the race today. “That’s why I feel like tomorrow, we can be even better,” he concluded.

Post-qualifying, Sergio Perez knew he messed up. “It (a crash) cannot happen again,” he said when questioned about the pressure surrounding his F1 future. Contrastingly, Ricciardo was on cloud nine, but Red Bull remained undecided. All he can do at this stage is go flat out to save his F1 career.

Daniel Ricciardo will “give it hell” before the summer break to convince Red Bull

Till about four races ago, Sergio Perez was facing more media-related pressure than voices from within Red Bull. But both these burdens have gotten heavier with a major shake-up expected within the team. Will Perez and Ricciardo simply swap seats or will Liam Lawson come into the mix, ending one of the driver’s RBR stints?

Post-qualifying, the Honey Badger told Crash.net how the Christian Horner-lead team has still kept him in the dark. “I haven’t been told anything,” he said before adding how he’s operating on a self-imposed deadline. “But I’ve told myself if I can do it, go fast. You’ve got two races to give it hell. And that’s honestly not even with the idea of moving up. It’s even just trying to lock something in for next year.”

The Aussie was very self-aware, highlighting how the upcoming two races “could be two of the most important of not only my season but potentially, my career.” With Helmut Marko having publicly promised a cockpit to Liam Lawson for 2025, Ricciardo has no choice but to outperform Perez and prove his worth to even keep his VCARB seat. This season has indeed witnessed one of the most volatile driver markets in F1.