Daniel Ricciardo is heading into what could be the most important week of his Formula 1 career.
How he performs in today's Hungarian Grand Prix and next week in Belgium will not only decide his life after the summer break, but could well end with outcomes that are at the extremes.
Should the next two races go wrong, then he could find himself being dropped by his current RB team and that potentially being the end of his life as a grand prix driver.
But, if circumstances continue like they have so far in Hungary this weekend, then he could even now find himself promoted to the main Red Bull squad.
With increasing doubts over Sergio Perez's future amid his ongoing struggles, there was probably no better time for Ricciardo to top Q1 at the Hungaroring and deliver a strong qualifying performance on an afternoon when team-mate Yuki Tsunoda also crashed out.
The situation surrounding Perez is incredibly complex because, if Red Bull elects to replace the Mexican should his performance not improve before the summer break, then there is not an obvious favourite candidate to slot in.
Its three main options - Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson - all have their pros and cons.
The only certainty right now is Red Bull getting increasingly frustrated by Perez’s situation .
Having said after the British Grand Prix that Perez’s lack of points scoring was “unsustainable” over the long run, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner seemed even less happy with things after the Mexican's Q1 crash at the Hungaroring.
Speaking about how patient the team could be, Horner said: “Discussions like that happen internally, rather than through media. But obviously we can't run one-legged.”
When speculation over Perez’s future erupted a few weeks ago, the most logical choice to slot in at the time was the team’s reserve driver Liam Lawson.
The New Zealander has been on the sidelines this year, but has a strong pedigree and has done a lot of work in the simulator for the team. He was also evaluated in an RB20 test at Silverstone recently, where it is understood he did enough to show he had the potential needed to step up.
His chances were also boosted by the fact that Ricciardo’s season had not produced everything hoped for, with the Australian failing to find consistently strong performances.
But Ricciardo has been doing better more recently and, having been at Red Bull before in going up against Verstappen in the same team, would certainly be the least risky option in terms of being able to deal with the pressure that comes from being in the opposite garage to the triple world champion.
Red Bull does know it has to be mindful about the risks that could come from putting one of its young drivers straight in alongside Verstappen.
The pressure to deliver against arguably F1’s fastest driver would be hard for someone as inexperienced as Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda did himself no favours with his crash in Q3 for the Hungarian Grand Prix in shaking off questions about him not cracking under pressure.
There is some extra logic to moving Ricciardo up too. A move to promote him would in theory allow the energy drinks giant to hand Lawson a seat at RB, where he and Tsunoda could then be compared directly for the second half of the year.
If things work out over the remainder of the campaign for Ricciardo, the deal could then roll on into 2025. If they don’t, then Red Bull will have had enough time to understand the potential of its RB youngsters to see if either of those could step up instead.
Nothing is decided yet, and everything could yet change over the Hungarian and Belgian races – but the significance of what is at stake is not lost on anyone.
And Ricciardo himself said that even though he'd had no formal confirmation that he is now a contender for Red Bull, he was clear in his own head about how defining the next few days would be.
“I haven't been told anything, but I've told myself 'fucking do it' - go fast,” he said.
“You got two races to give it hell, and that's honestly not even with the idea of moving up. It's even in my turn just trying to lock something in for next year.
“So yeah, I intentionally came into the weekend telling myself that these two races could be two of the most important of my not only season, but potentially career.
“So yeah, they haven't specifically said anything to me. But I've said enough to myself!”
