Barely a week after giving Brendon Hartley some backing amid speculation he could be replaced, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is now painting a bleak picture for the Kiwi.

While Toro Rosso teammate Pierre Gasly has enjoyed two stand-out results, with a P7 in Monaco adding to his P4 in Bahrain, Hartley still only has the single point to his name from Baku since replacing Carlos Sainz at last year's US GP.

Consequently, rumours have risen that despite the high esteem the former WEC champion is held in for his technical knowledge, his lack of points means he will be cut with a number of names suggested.

They include former Sauber drivers Antonio Giovinazzi and Pascal Wehrlein, recent Red Bull tester in Barcelona Jake Dennis, F2 driver Sean Gelael and even Williams reserve Robert Kubica.

“The situation around Brendon is not pleasing,” Marko told Speed Week with Hartley wiped out of the Monaco race by Charles Leclerc after a brake failure.

“We will go through this in peace and see what we can do in the future.”

The 28-year-old expressed surprise at the rumours when asked about them in Monte Carlo last weekend and insists he has a contract in place so does expect to race in Canada next weekend.