Amid the Tug of War for the RB Seat Between Daniel Ricciardo & Sergio Perez, McLaren Prodigy Touted as Worthy Contender

If there’s one seat that’s the most contested in Formula 1, it’s Red Bull’s second seat. And whether or not any other question stirs the paddock, one question comes up every year: Who will partner Max Verstappen next season? Because the seat is under such intense scrutiny throughout the year, any time the second driver at Red Bull starts underperforming, talks about their replacement begin making the rounds. And that second driver right now happens to be Sergio Perez. 

He’s not having the best of seasons. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like the F1 community was in for an intra-team championship battle for the first time since 2016. But those hopes started fading after the Miami GP, after which Perez’s form took a turn for the worse. And with everyone’s hopes, his seat’s security also started fading. That’s when speculations about Daniel Ricciardo replacing him started. But according to former world champion Damon Hill, there’s a third player in this tug-of-war between the two Red Bull drivers who has the potential to partner Verstappen.

Lando Norris is a strong contender to drive the second Red Bull

It’s no secret that Perez has been struggling at Red Bull for the past few months. And even though Red Bull management said they have no intention of getting Ricciardo to replace him, it doesn’t help that if his performances don’t improve, there’s still a slight possibility that Red Bull will ask Daniel to fill in for him, giving the Aussie his “fairytale ending.” Speaking to The Independent, Damon Hill said, “He’s [Sergio Perez] already under pressure. Red Bull cannot afford to have such a good car and not have two cars at the top for the championship.”

Whether it be Damon Hill or veteran journalist Peter Windsor, they both had the same answer when asked who they think could be a good fit at Red Bull. Hill said, “Possibly Lando.” Since Lando Norris joined F1 in 2019, he has shown champion potential, and McLaren has been promising him a championship-winning car time and again. But five years into his time with the team, it still hasn’t delivered. And Norris might want to shift teams. But that’s where the problem is. He’s tied to McLaren till the end of 2025.

Read More: Despite 183 Wins and 60-Year-Old Legacy, Lando Norris Points Fingers at His Iconic Team as He Feels Further Away From His Dreams

Hill explained that he couldn’t quite understand why Norris would be so confident about McLaren and tie himself to it for so long if it’s shown no signs of improvement. As per Hill, “If you are so confident in yourself, you should be able to leave when the right time comes.” Would 2024 be the right time to leave if Red Bull offers him a seat?

Will Lando Norris be the second driver at Red Bull?

Ever since Daniel Ricciardo left Milton-Keynes in 2019, no one at Red Bull has challenged Verstappen as he did. So anyone who joined the team automatically became second-fiddle to the Dutchman. In the instance that Norris does join Red Bull, will he, too, become Verstappen’s second driver? Peter Windsor believes he would.

Windsor thinks if Norris was to move to Red Bull, “the trouble would start because how’s he going to beat Max Verstappen, and then what does Lando Norris become? Does he become just a really good number two or what?” No driver would want to be a second driver in any circumstance, especially someone like Lando Norris, who everyone, including Verstappen, rates very highly. So if Red Bull offered him a seat only to make him second-fiddle to Max, would he be better off at McLaren?

Do you think Sergio Perez’s time at Red Bull is up?

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