Sergio Perez issued a 5-race ultimatum by Red Bull to improve his performance or lose out to Daniel Ricciardo - Reports

Sergio Perez has been reportedly issued an ultimatum by Red Bull to perform in the next five races or be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. The Mexican has struggled for form this season after winning the race in Baku. Since then, the driver has been unable to stay consistent and perform anywhere close to his teammate, Max Verstappen's level.

The major issue has been around qualifying as Verstappen continues to extract the most from the car while Sergio Perez struggles. With the performance declining by the race, the Mexican's advantage in the championship to Lewis Hamilton has continued to shrink. The race in Qatar was the first time the Red Bull team boss spoke out on Sergio's lack of form.

According to the Italian branch of Motorsport.com, the rumors that were circulating about Sergio Perez being given an ultimatum might just be true. As reported by journalist Roberto Chinchero, the Mexican might have a five-race ultimatum in which he has to perform, or else Daniel Ricciardo could be considered. The report states:

"Something has moved, and not in the best direction for Perez. After the Qatar Grand Prix, team principal Christian Horner very tactfully pointed out that Red Bull needs to find Perez again, not so much for this season (the objectives have already been achieved) but with a view to 2024 in which team may also need Sergio to reach its targets.

"The impression is that Perez has a fairly clear ultimatum, namely the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi, a deadline by which he will have to convince his team that he has put the most difficult period of his Formula 1 career behind him. It is unlikely that Horner and Marko want to spend the winter with the doubt of meeting again next March in Bahrain with the Perez seen in the last races."

Sergio Perez's contract runs until 2024 F1 season

Sergio Perez's current contract will expire at the end of the 2024 F1 season. He signed a two-year extension with Red Bull last season and is in the first of his two seasons right now.

The driver won a couple of races with the team this season. The first was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a race weekend where Max Verstappen was not well and had to start from outside of the top 10. The second was in Baku where he beat his teammate fair and square. Perez performed well in those first-year races but since then the decline has been alarming.

With Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings, Sergio Perez needs to step up now as contracts can sometimes be nothing more than a piece of paper.