Sergio Pérez dealing with illness ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez is currently dealing with an illness, just days before the Austrian Grand Prix.

The driver was slated to be available for television interviews on Thursday, but the team stated that Pérez had felt “unwell” on Wednesday night and would not be at the track on Thursday, instead using the day to rest in preparation for this weekend.

Complicating matters is the fact that this weekend is one of the sprint races on the 2023 Formula 1 calendar. That means that qualifying for the Grand Prix takes place on Friday, after a single practice session. Then there is “Sprint Saturday,” with qualifying for the sprint race taking place Saturday, followed by the sprint race itself.

All of which leads up to the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The illness comes at an inopportune moment for Pérez, who has struggled in recent races. After his win in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix he was just six points behind teammate Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings, but his poor form over the past few grands prix has seen Verstappen extend his lead over him to 69 point. Beyond that, Fernando Alonso has closed to within nine points of Pérez for second place.

In the unlikely scenario that Pérez cannot race, Red Bull has a few options available. They could look to slide Yuki Tsunoda or Nyck de Vries, from sister team AlphaTauri, into his seat. Liam Lawson, one of their reserve drivers, is available this week as there is no Super Formula race scheduled this weekend.

Then of course there is Daniel Ricciardo, another Red Bull reserve driver. Ricciardo is slated for a test session at Silverstone following next week’s British Grand Prix, and earlier this season Team Principal Christian Horner noted that Ricciardo was “ten minutes away” from being ready to return to the grid.