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![Perez must prove himself in Spa to save his seat](https://webp.gp.cdn.pxr.nl/news/2024/07/24/cd0f152fd4965587ba99ce2a2d4d035a47e09e1c.jpg?width=1800)
Can Perez save his seat at Spa? 'Track should suit him'
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- Sophia Crothall
Sergio Perez has been having a tough time at Red Bull. Although he started the season off strong, in what looked to be a repeat of 2023, he has not featured on the podium since the Chinese Grand Prix. With one final race before the summer break, the Mexican must prove he deserves the seat - and Karun Chandhok revealed this could be the weekend he can do that.
Helmut Marko revealed that after this weekend's race in Spa, he will fly to England to discuss Perez's future with team boss Christian Horner. The Mexican has now fallen to seventh in the driver's standings, one point behind Lewis Hamilton. Last season, the Red Bull driver finished second, and even won two races in Jeddah and Baku. Nevertheless, this season's performance has been quite different - with crashes in both Canada and Monaco. Last weekend, in Hungary, he also crashed during qualifying. As a consequence, the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson have been linked to the seat, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
Can Perez save his seat in Spa?
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Karun Chandhok firstly revealed how he felt after watching another tough session for Perez: "Watching Checo crashing Q1 was, you just felt sorry for him. Nobody wants to see that. And it's a guy trying to fight for his career. And I felt really sorry for him in that shunt.” Now, he has explained why he believes this weekend could be the perfect opportunity for the Red Bull driver to prove himself to the team: "Spa is a track that should suit Red Bull. Historically, it's a track that should suit him," he said.
In both 2022 and 2023, Perez finished the race second, behind teammate Max Verstappen. Although Chandhok is confident Perez could turn things around this weekend, given Red Bull's strong performance in previous years, the weather will play a factor. "The trouble is the weather is so unpredictable. We saw George Russell and the Williams qualify front row a few years ago in the wet. You can see some pretty crazy stuff happen at Spa with the weather. The overriding narrative of the weekend is what happens with the weather," the former F1 driver concluded.