Sergio Perez could lose his Red Bull seat next year after struggling to compete with teammate Max Verstappen
Red Bull reportedly have Daniel Ricciardo as their “first choice” to replace Sergio Perez when the Mexican’s contract expires next season. Christian Horner has been disappointed with his driver this season, who has struggled to achieve the same results as Max Verstappen.
Dutch driver Verstappen dominated the championship with 13 wins in the first 16 races and only one podium finish.
Despite having an equally superior car, Perez only managed eight podiums and was eliminated at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Perez is one of 14 drivers whose contracts will expire at the end of next season and a lot of transfer activity is expected. The Formula 1 website reported that Ricciardo is the driver chosen to replace Perez at Red Bull from 2025.
They claim Red Bull’s “preferred driver” to replace Perez if needed mid-season or late in the 2024 season, will be Ricciardo with Liam Lawson then ready to be recruited to replace the Australian driver at AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo was signed by Red Bull as a reserve driver after being fired by McLaren last season.
The Australian driver was then recruited to AlphaTauri and impressed in the first three races before breaking his arm at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Ricciardo enjoyed his most successful years with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018 – winning seven races. Perez is currently under pressure in the Drivers’ Championship with six races remaining while Lewis Hamilton is only 33 points behind.
Horner has set his Red Bull driver’s sights on beating the seven-time world champion and finishing in second place in the overall standings.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has refused to give Perez any guarantees regarding his position with the team beyond his current contract.
Confirming that Red Bull will evaluate other drivers next year, Horner said:
“There are many drivers we also need to pay attention to, there is now a generation of very talented drivers. “Now, being Max’s teammate will never be easy and some drivers are up to the challenge, others are not.
But of course, in addition to the drivers we have internally, we keep an eye on everyone. As you can imagine, there is some interest in driving Red Bull in a number of areas.”
However, the British driver has backed Perez to make Red Bull history by finishing second in the championship despite some questionable performances in recent weeks.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the team boss said:
“That’s something we’ve never achieved; we have never finished in first or second place with any of our riders in the world championship, so this will be a big thing for us to achieve.
He came close last year, which would have been his best ever result and he has the best car he’s ever had to be able to try and get that result. “Japan has been disappointing and difficult for him, but he will recover. I am sure he has enough races left with six Grands Prix remaining to achieve a great result at the end of the season.”
Leave a Reply