Red Bull's Helmut Marko praises Sergio Perez's progress ahead of Formula 1 summer break

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has expressed his confidence in Sergio Perez's steady improvement as Formula 1 heads into its summer break.

The upcoming Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps marks the end of the mid-season races before a three-week shutdown in August.

Current leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull is dominating the championship race, holding a commanding 110-point lead over Perez after the Mexican driver's challenging period.

Struggling through five races without a Q3 appearance, Perez faced an uphill battle to secure significant points.

Following a crash in the first practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Perez seemed destined for another disastrous weekend. However, he impressively recovered, breaking his Q3 curse and climbing from ninth on the grid to a podium finish last weekend.

"He is clearly improving after fighting his way from ninth on the grid to third in Hungary," said Marko in an interview with OE24.

"Finally, he made it to Q3 again. You can see an upward trend."

During the qualifying crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, Perez inadvertently revealed Red Bull's crucial car floor to the public.

"There was fortunately little to see this time as opposed to the presentation in Monaco," remarked Marko.

"The construction of the underside is very complicated, and the aerodynamics affect the handling of the car."

The return of Daniel Ricciardo to AlphaTauri in place of Nyck de Vries this past weekend added further pressure on Perez's future at Red Bull.

Despite a disappointing two-year tenure with McLaren, Ricciardo displayed optimism with a solid performance in Hungary, finishing 13th in both qualifying and the race, outperforming teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

"That was a perfect debut," insisted Marko.

"It was definitely the right choice to have him return. He creates a positive mood and energy at the team - he was even heading towards the points."

Fans should mark their calendars for Sunday, 30 July, as the Belgian Grand Prix awaits at Spa-Francorchamps, promising an exciting race ahead.