For the drivers on the Formula 1 grid without a contract for the 2025 season, every race weekend counts.
The likes of Ferrari and McLaren are already set for next year while Alpine and Haas don’t have a single confirmed driver yet.
Speaking on The Chequered Flag Podcast, racing driver and pundit Alice Powell was far from impressed with one driver in a precarious position.
Two seats on the grid are still available that nearly every driver will be coveting.
The first is at Mercedes, although team principal Toto Wolff appears to have his eye on youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The other seat is at Red Bull because Sergio Perez’s contract is set to expire, but Powell didn’t think the Mexican covered himself in glory.
He was well off the pace at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari compared to his teammate and didn’t even reach Q3 in qualifying.
Red Bull gambled with his strategy and when a highly expected safety car never arrived, he was left to try and drive through the pack on the medium tyres during the final portion of the race.
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Alice Powell thinks Red Bull will get ‘fed up’ with Sergio Perez after Imola Grand Prix
Team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko appear in no rush to determine Max Verstappen’s teammate for next season.
The likes of Aston Martin, Williams and Sauber have all made recent announcements, but Red Bull know they’re in a position of power.
Sergio Perez would love to stay with the team, meanwhile, Carlos Sainz is waiting to see if Red Bull stick or twist with the 268-race driver.
The other reason why Red Bull might not be making a call on Perez’s future is because Max Verstappen could still leave before the end of the season.
Although his contract runs until the end of the 2028 season, Mercedes still want Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton.
In all likelihood, Verstappen will stay where he is until at least the end of next season.
However, Powell believes the chances of Perez driving alongside him at Red Bull may start to dwindle if he repeats his performance in Imola.
He was so far off the pace and unlike in Melbourne where his car reportedly had damage, he can’t use the same excuse this time around.
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Sergio Perez can’t afford a repeat of Imola Grand Prix performance
Talking about the 34-year-old’s display on Sunday, Powell said: “I mean, I’m going to be blunt here, he’s not doing enough, certainly over this weekend.
“He starts the seasons off pretty well, that seems to be the trend and then he starts to have a little bit of a dip.
“We can all have off weekends so maybe for him it’s just one of those that’s an off weekend, we’ll obviously have to keep an eye on how he gets on in the next several races.
“The pressure always seems to be on [Sergio] Perez and I think that comes when anyone’s up against Max Verstappen.
“But, Red Bull soon will get fed up and they will need someone that’s faster and going to be up close and backing Max.”
Perez will have to hope that Powell’s feelings aren’t echoed within the Red Bull team.
Helmut Marko has already laughed off one reported demand made by Perez’s entourage for his next contract.
Journalist Andrew Benson believes the Mexican hurt his chances of earning a new deal with his performance at Imola.
Perez has to make sure he doesn’t suffer a similar mid-season dip in form as he did in 2023 otherwise his F1 future might be in doubt.
The post ‘Not doing enough’: BBC pundit believes F1 team will be getting ‘fed up’ with 268-race driver after Imola appeared first on F1 Oversteer.