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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has placed the blame on Sergio Perez after Max Verstappen’s final qualifying lap in Austin was impacted by his team-mate on Friday. The champion had been on course for pole position but lost control of the car with Perez ahead of him, ensuring that the Dutchman would qualify in sixth instead – behind a front three of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen was livid with the team’s pit wall after the dirty air from Perez’s car appeared to negatively affect his team-mate, who blasted Red Bull over their radio. “Well done, well f****** done there!” shouted Verstappen as he was perplexed over why the two cars were placed so close together on the track. Verstappen then continued: “What the f*** was that in the last corner?!”

He would have been on pole if Verstappen’s final lap counted but ultimately will start Sunday’s race from sixth, while Perez’s struggles continued as he qualified in ninth place – before Marko placed the blame on the under-fire driver in his post-qualifying reaction.

“We knew it was going to be tight [in qualifying but on Verstappen’s] first lap in Q3, Checo got in the way,” Marko told ServusTV. “It was a communication error, and on the second run at Turn 1, there was a lock-up and it’s tragic when you drop from first to sixth place. The cars in front of [Verstappen] are all strong opponents and it will be a tough race.”

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JUST IN Max Verstappen fumes with Red Bull over Perez incident at United States GP[SPOTTED]

Perez will have been disappointed that by inadvertently blocking Verstappen he has seen the finger pointed at himself, at a time when his position at the team has been in doubt.

With only one more season left on his contract, Perez’s underwhelming campaign – despite being on course to finish only behind Verstappen – has led many to speculate over whether the three-time champion could be given a new team-mate next season.

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Marko did note a “clear improvement” from Perez despite the incident with Verstappen, as he is “always stronger in the race than in qualifying” but a dismal session from Red Bull will leave them feeling anxious ahead of the United States GP.

The advisor, whose position has also been the subject of speculation in recent weeks, discussed where Red Bull were struggling compared to their rivals in Texas.

“The bumps hurt us more than others, we couldn’t drive with the rideheight we planned,” Marko added. “But in the long run, we can make up some ground. On Sunday, the temperature should be very high, and ty wear should come into play, which is a strength of ours.”

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