A heavy crash, a Q1 elimination and the prospect of a long, hard and potentially pointless Formula 1Hungarian Grand Prix from 16th on the grid might seem like the worst-case scenario for Sergio Perez.

Under pressure to perform in Hungary and Belgium to ensure he staves off the threat of being replaced over the August break, the blow isn’t as devastating as it might seem given the signs of very real improvement prior to the accident.

Red Bull, with a 71-point constructors' championship lead to protect, needs more points from Perez, who has scored only 15 across the last six weekends, And that desire is heightened by McLaren getting a 1-2 on the grid. But the result is only one measure of Perez's situation.

The other is performance and up until the moment he hit the wall, Perez’s underlying performance in Hungary was encouraging - as team-mate Max Verstappen was at pains to point out. 

“It's just a shame for Checo that that happened in Q1 because I thought up until that point, actually he was having quite a decent weekend,” said Verstappen. “So he's very unfortunate. That's the only thing that I want to say about that."