Sergio Perez's misery didn't seem to fade as the Red Bull driver crashed his car into the wall during Q1 of the Hungarian GP. The Mexican driver lost control of the RB20 in turn 8, hit the wall, and saw his qualifying session come to a disastrous end, adding to his already disappointing season.
Perez began the session strongly, setting a time of 1:17.886 on the timesheet. However, his good run was short-lived after Kevin Magnussen set a faster lap time of 1:17.851. The crash meant that Perez couldn't improve his time, resulting in a disappointing P16 starting position.
Perez's Hungaroring incident has added more pressure on him. The Mexican driver was already under scrutiny for his underwhelming performances, and the latest Q1 crash will only make it harder for him to avoid the axe.
Perez's Q1 exit has also hurt Red Bull's chances of extending their lead in the Constructors' Championship. The fact that he will start at P16 means that Checo's chances of bagging significant points are quite low.
Formula 1 is currently in Hungary for the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. This is the 13th race of this season and the penultimate race before the summer break starts. Red Bull's Max Verstappen would like to maintain his record after winning the previous two races at this venue.
How is Sergio Perez at risk at Red Bull?
Despite signing a multi-year contract with Red Bull recently, the rumored clauses inside the contract do not provide Sergio Perez with complete immunity. According to these clauses, Perez would need to be within 100 points of Max Verstappen and hold onto P5 in the Drivers' Championship by the summer break.
Unfortunately for Checo, he is 137 points behind his teammate at the moment, and after his Q1 crash, the gap is expected to increase further. To make matters worse, the 34-year-old currently sits in P6, just seven points ahead of George Russell and six ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes camp.
While Russell also went out in Q1, Hamilton has the chance to overtake Sergio Perez in the Championship. With just one more race to go (Belgian GP) before the summer break, it is unlikely that Sergio Perez would be able to meet the aforementioned clauses and save his Red Bull seat.