has been left with a decision to make after produced one of the most impressive performances of the season at the on his return to the F1 grid.

The New Zealander put together a respectable qualifying display on Saturday and wasn't afraid to get his elbows out in the sprint race, ruffling the feathers of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in the process.

His real impression came in the Grand Prix on Sunday though. Starting on the back row of the grid following a bumper grid penalty for new components, Lawson scythed through the field with efficiency, outclassing both Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Perez in the process. When the chequered flag dropped, he had risen to ninth place.

In many respects, such a comprehensive performance makes Horner's life easier, especially when taking into account Perez's struggles. The Mexican racer started from ninth on the grid but made little headway, ending the Grand Prix in seventh.

Even more embarrassing for the six-time Grand Prix winner was that he finished behind George Russell, who started the race from the pit lane and, if that wasn't enough of a handicap, served a five-second time penalty for shoving Valtteri Bottas wide at Turn 12.

Such a gulf in performance level will make Horner's decision very easy if Perez can't turn his form around over the coming five races. The 34-year-old is now without a top-three finish in his last 14 Grand Prix starts. With McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes making up ground in the performance race, these returns are untenable moving into 2025.

Despite the very real threat of starting the 2025 campaign without a drive, Perez maintains that there is no major jeopardy surrounding his position, instead putting the rumours about his departure down to media noise.

"I've done this so many times," he told ahead of the race in Austin. "I know them [the reporters] well. I know how they try to get the pressure into you. They like to get the quote. It's how the sport is.

"You have one, two bad races, a lot of negative talk about you and so on," Pérez says. "But it's also something in the culture of the team as well-with Red Bull. The surrounding talk, the contract talks and so on. It's just part of the game."