Should Sergio Perez be sacked or not, is the question plaguing Red Bull and F1 fans. The Mexican racer signed a 2-year extension through to 2026 despite his dwindling form after a strong start to 2024. Though Team Principal Christian Horner backed him, Perez is only going from bad to worse with only 15 points in the last 6 races. Red Bull seems to be awaiting more proof before enforcing his exit clauses and replacing him with Daniel Ricciardo for 2025. Unfortunately, Team Advisor Helmut Marko has also not defended him in his latest interview.

Within 6 months of returning to the Red Bull family in 2023, Ricciardo proved his worth and secured a VCARB (then AlphaTauri) seat. However, he hasn’t lived up to the hype yet, scoring only 11 points this year, compared to teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s 20. As a result, VCARB hasn’t renewed his contract yet. However, with Liam Lawson not living up to RB’s expectations in his Silverstone test, and Tsunoda having a contract for 2025, Ricciardo is best set to experience the ‘fairytale’ ending he wanted. Oe24 recently questioned Helmut Marko about why Sergio Perez is blatantly falling behind Max Verstappen.

“With all the bad luck he’s had, he’s also mentally battered,” Marko replied. The 81-year-old was further grilled on Perez’s exit clauses, which reportedly allows Red Bull to replace him if he falls 100 points behind his teammate before the summer break. “Almost all top drivers have performance clauses in their contracts,” he said, hinting at the summer break as the deadline. Another clause in Perez’s contract was dependent on his driver’s standing position at the end of the year. If he falls more than 5 places behind Verstappen, Ricciardo (or another replacement) could slide into his seat for 2025. When asked to confirm the certainty of Perez’s 2025 seat, Marko said, “What is certain in Formula 1?”

Marko replying with an open-ended counter-question is the last thing Perez’s fans wanted to hear. But what about Daniel Ricciardo’s fans? These words are like sweet music to their ears. However, the Honey Badger himself doesn’t want to get carried away in this sea of speculation.

Daniel Ricciardo wary of “crazy things” that happen in F1

No F1 driver wants to have the career graph Daniel Ricciardo has had in F1. From being a serial Red Bull podium-finisher to getting lapped by his teammate at McLaren, it wasn’t pretty. Though his rebirth with the team he started with isn’t fairytale-like, Sergio Perez is setting him up for success. Though the Aussie showed his mettle in 2023’s Silverstone test, he doesn’t want to predict a summer break swap with Perez.

“I would never make any predictions in this sport,” he told the media at the British GP. “I feel like every year that this sport goes on, I know it goes in the trend of the sport is getting bigger.” Ricciardo likened today’s F1 to Hollywood, adding how “unpredictable” the narrative is. He further explained how “crazy things happen” but his sole focus remains on bettering himself.

The next two races in Hungary and Belgium will be the litmus test for Perez’s revival skill. If he doesn’t show up, Mercedes and McLaren will continue to steal the constructors’ championship lead from Red Bull. Knowing Horner and Marko’s past ruthlessness with drivers, the Guadalajara-born racer will be forced to pave the way for Ricciardo. The summer break will be the decisive time when drivers’ futures get decided. Which side of the argument do you lie on? Share in the comments bellow.