Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed that he held a meeting in his kitchen to try to sort out driver Sergio Perez's recent poor F1 performance.
Perez's performance has suddenly worsened in recent rounds, scoring just 15 points in the past six rounds.
The Mexican driver's poor form coincides with Red Bull coming under increased pressure from rival teams, leaving team-mate Max Verstappen in a vulnerable position at the front.
Perez's predicament has seen him fall 137 points behind Verstappen in the championship, sparking reports that he may have a release clause in his contract.
But Horner, who declared Perez's points tally at Silverstone “unsustainable”, revealed he had met with the Spaniard between rounds to understand his struggles.
“We have a really open relationship,” Horner told Sky F1. “I was sitting with him in the kitchen at home and I said, 'Dude, what's going on? Is it something else?'”
“And he said, 'No, I think I'm overthinking it a bit.
“I think it will be to his advantage to pretty much ignore what's going on on the other side of the garage, and that's the approach he's taking at the moment, to just focus on his own performance.”
Perez's problems have led to speculation that RB's Daniel Ricciardo could be promoted mid-season, while Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson tested the RB20 at Silverstone last week.
But Horner insists Red Bull are eager to see Perez regain the competitive edge that saw him a regular podium finish in his early races.
He added: “We're all hoping Checo will fulfil the potential he has shown in the first four or five races.”
“We know he has the ability to do it, which is why we tried to settle him down by exercising his option for next year early.”
“I think he's been a bit confused the last few races but hopefully there were signs today that he's coming out of that.
“The team is supporting him and working hard to help him get back into form, because that's what we desperately need.”
Red Bull has rushed into rolling out a major update package ahead of this weekend's Budapest as it looks to cement its position as pacesetter ahead of McLaren and Mercedes.
However, despite Perez's car not having the improved engine cover used by Verstappen, the Mexican driver performed well in FP2, finishing 0.2 seconds behind his teammate.
“The cars are running well,” he stressed. “There are some differences between the cars.”
“Both have been upgraded. The only thing the Checo is missing is the engine cover and some sidepod elements. But the floor, wings and other parts are the same on both.”
Horner hailed Perez's practice as his “best Friday since China” and said when the car is working well it “closes the gap” between the Red Bull drivers.
“Hopefully he's gained a lot of confidence from that,” he added.
“The car was performing well but I think it was a bit of a dangerous situation and I think Max dealt with it a bit better than Checo.”
“But hopefully with the work we do here we can get the car in pretty good shape.”
