Sergio Perez under pressure and under the weather at the Austrian GP this weekend

The Formula One circus is back at the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the weekend and it’s high time for Sergio Perez to make a comeback statement, if he’s ever going to regain his confidence and get back to form. He has struggled immensely ever since he slammed into the barrier while qualifying in Monaco. Before that, he had won two out of the five previous races and finished second in the other three, leaving him a very close second to Max Verstappen in the championship. Now, he is sixty-nine points behind his teammate and Fernando Alonso is creeping up from behind, only nine points away from being tied with him for second in the standings. Perez can’t afford to let that happen.

Teams like Mercedes and Aston Martin are working tirelessly to trim lap times in an effort to bridge the gap to Red Bull, while Red Bull has announced that they are focusing on developing next year’s car. This means that as the season wears on, Perez may not have the luxury of driving a racing machine that’s vastly superior to those of his rivals. It’s unlikely that anyone will catch Verstappen in the Drivers Championship or Red Bull in the Constructors Championship, but Hamilton and Alonzo are likely to catch Perez if he can’t get back on the podium.

Unfortunately, Perez is not off to a great start so far in Austria, which happens to be Red Bull’s home race. He missed all activities on Thursday due to feeling ill, but he is expected to be healthy enough to drive on Friday, which he will have to do in order to be able to race on Sunday. As this is the second of six Sprint Race Weekends scheduled for this year, there will only be one free-practice session on Friday, followed by a qualifying session for Sunday’s race. Saturday begins with qualifying for the sprint race and then the sprint race itself, where points will be on offer for the first eight finishers. There will be massive pressure to perform all three days, and it’s fair to say that Perez will be feeling it.

For Perez fans, the hope is that he will be healthy and focused from FP1 to the final lap on Sunday. If not, if he does not perform, his confidence may falter even further and potentially send him into a death spiral. It’s a well known fact that Red Bull has no problem with swapping drivers mid-season, and the team’s second seat, Perez’s seat, is highly coveted. So far this year, Red Bull has kept their reserve driver, Daniel Ricciardo, out of the limelight, but he’s slated to spend three days testing in the Red Bull after next weekend’s race in Silverstone, and he will be eager to impress. Chances are, however, that if Ricciardo meets expectations, he would replace Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s sister team, Alpha Tauri. It’s not likely that Perez would be replaced at this point in the season, but at Alpha Tauri, Ricciardo would be one step closer. Checo performed extremely well at the last Sprint Weekend, claiming the top step on the podium in both races, so he knows how to get it done. As long as doesn’t choke on all the orange smoke in Austria, he’s more than likely going to maintain his status as Red Bull’s number two. Best of luck, Sergio.