Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, 33, has long been mentioned as a possible Sergio Perez replacement. He has now addressed the rumors during the most recent Mexican Grand Prix.
In response to speculation that Daniel Ricciardo might take his place at Red Bull for the upcoming season, Sergio Perez acknowledged that the Australian outqualified him at the Mexican Grand Prix with a “tremendous lap.”
In Mexico City, Ricciardo qualified in fourth place, just ahead of Perez in fifth, which increased conjecture about his future. With two victories in the first four races of the season, Perez got off to a great start, but his performance has since declined dramatically.
With three Grands Prix remaining, Lewis Hamilton is now only 20 points behind him in the race for second place. He hasn’t finished on the podium since the Italian Grand Prix. As Red Bull’s third driver at the beginning of the season, Ricciardo has made an impression since taking Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri.
Although he is scheduled to race for AlphaTauri in the upcoming season, Perez was questioned about the possibility of losing his seat to Ricciardo following his strong performance in Mexico. “Well, Daniel had a great lap,” Perez said following the qualifying round.
“Moreover, I don’t believe Daniel is the only one who wants my seat. Many other drivers, in my opinion, would like to occupy that seat. And if that’s what they deserve, that’s fantastic, and I’m glad for them.”
Then things took a turn for the worse for Perez, who was forced to retire from the race following a collision with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari; Ricciardo came in seventh. Before the next Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Perez gave his reflections on the race, saying, “Mexico was devastating for me.”
“But in this sport these things happen, and you can’t afford to keep going over what could have been. I wanted to win my home race more than anything but that is gone now and my full focus is on finishing second in the championship.
“I think we can achieve results right now, and we need to have a fantastic weekend in Brazil. With the direction we are going, last weekend felt like things were starting to come together. I feel more at ease in the vehicle. The team and I have worked hard, and it is showing in the performance and setup.
“Brazil is a totally different challenge to Mexico but it’s always a fun track, and we have two opportunities to score points this weekend. So, while Sprint weekends are a challenge on set-up, we want to maximise this chance all we can.”
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