Sergio 'Checo' Perez endured another disastrous race in Belgium with his future on the line, and fans think they've spotted something that confirms the Mexican's sacking.
Formula 1 continued to demonstrate that it is well and truly back from the boredom of Max Verstappen domination, as George Russell looked to have snatched victory in sensational circumstances at Spa.
The British driver crossed the line first after a one-stop strategy that looked suicidal, with every other top runner using a two-stop, however, after weighing in 1.5kg underweight Russell lost his win in heartbreaking circumstances.
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It was Russell's teammate who inherited the win, with Lewis Hamilton getting his 105th career win with his future Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc being promoted to the podium following Russell's disqualification.
Elsewhere in the field, it was a positive afternoon for Verstappen, who extended his championship lead by finishing ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris despite starting seven places lower than his rival.
"I went off in turn one and that ruined my whole race," Norris told Sky Sports.
However, it was another tough day at the office for Verstappen's teammate Perez who went from a starting position of 2nd to ending the race 7th (promoted from 8th after Russell DSQ).
The Mexican has been under huge pressure to deliver at Red Bull as his considerable lack of pace compared to Verstappen now costing the team dearly with other teams upping car performance.
It was seen as no issue last season that Perez was nowhere near as quick as Max with Red Bull dominating the sport. However, with Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all closing the gap, Perez has become a considerable liability for Red Bull.
It was confirmed by Red Bull's Helmut Marko that a decision would be made on Verstappen's teammate during the summer break despite Perez recently signing a two-year extension and fans think the decision is already made.
Following the race footage of Verstappen leaving the track alongside his former Red Bull teammate, Daniel Ricciardo emerged, and based on the Aussies face, he may have been told some good news...
One fan wrote: "Perez is done and finally too. Took too long. Max and Daniel content is about to get real."
Another commented: "Max and Ricciardo for the rest of the season it is then"
A third added: "That's Checo done then."
Ricciardo currently drives for Red Bull's sister team RB, so if he is to replace Perez it would leave another seat empty on the grid.
While it would seem Perez would be the perfect fit as a direct swap, RB is traditionally a junior team and it is believed Ricciardo would be replaced by Liam Lawson if he is to leave the team.
Topics: Formula 1, Max Verstappen, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo
Tom Jenkins