Sawt Falasteen - Perez 'not worried' about uncertain Red Bull future

After starting 15th on the grid following another qualifying flop –- it was the fifth consecutive event at which he failed to progress to the top-10 shootout -– he experienced a scrappy race.

But he remained feisty and confident about his future despite reports that Red Bull are preparing to replace him.

"In F1 in 13 years, I've seen it all," he said. "So, I am not worried about any of that. I'm mainly focused about getting my season back on track and making sure I keep enjoying this.

"I have full support from Helmut (Marko) and Christian (Horner). The whole team is fully supporting me, they know what I can do, they know my potential, and they are fully behind me."

Following Sunday's race, won by his team-mate and defending double world champion Max Verstappen, Perez remains second behind him in this year's title race -– but trailing by a distant 99 points.

"Nothing worked today," he explained. "I had a great launch, but then I got hit by (Esteban) Ocon on lap one and I lost position, instead of gaining, so it made it harder the recovery.

"I used too much my tyres in that first stint. We boxed... I think three laps before the safety car -- so it wasn't meant to be, but in the end we gave it all and did what we possibly could."

He attacked George Russell of Mercedes in a battle for fifth but was unable to pass him before the chequered flag.

J.AbuHassan--SF-PST