Every driver in the Red Bull family has it ingrained in their mind that the ultimate goal is to drive for the Milton-Keynes team. And with how the team’s been performing in the past couple of seasons, almost every driver on the grid would want to get their hands on a seat at Red Bull. but more so than anyone—mostly because they’re already part of the Red Bull family—it’s the AlphaTauri drivers vying for Sergio Perez’s seat. 23-year-old Yuki Tsunoda has been with the team since 2021, and this season especially, he’s proved he can step up when the team needs him to. And 34-year-old Daniel Ricciardo has been in Faenza for 10 days and has yet to prove himself in the AT04. Could sparks fly in their battle to replace Perez?

Sergio Perez hasn’t been having the best season at Red Bull. And the past few race weekends have been particularly challenging. Although he’s contracted with Red Bull till the end of 2024, if his performances don’t improve, there’s a slight possibility that he will get replaced at the end of 2023. But if the Mexican stays at Milton-Keynes till the end of his contract, the Red Bull seat would be up for grabs in 2025. And that’s what Tsunoda and Ricciardo will be fighting for. Teammate rivalries often boil over in Formula 1, but AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost is confident that Yuki and Daniel will have a good relationship.

In an interview at the Hungarian GP, Tost was asked about Ricciardo’s return to the team. As quoted by speedweek.com, he said, “We are very happy that Daniel is driving for us again. In a few races, we will know more about just how much he has changed in recent years. I assume that he will settle in very quickly with us.” Ricciardo and Tsunoda have already worked closely because Ricciardo was Red Bull’s reserve driver this year until he got his call-up. And they have a good relationship, something that Tost feels will continue at AlphaTauri.

He explained, “I assume there will be no problems between him and Yuki Tsunoda. Yuki had a very good relationship with Pierre Gasly and also got along well with Nyck de Vries. Of course, Yuki wants to be faster than Daniel, just like the other way around, but I don’t see any difficulties as a person.” While tensions might not boil over at Alpha, and Daniel and Yuki would want to work together to improve, there are few expectations Red Bull has of Ricciardo as he makes his return.

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Ricciardo’s return to F1 with AlphaTauri isn’t his first stint with the Faenze team. He drove for Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in the 2013 season, so returning to the team is like a second homecoming for him. Tost even said, “Daniel was at the racing car plant in Faenza for the first time a week ago, it was a very touching return, because he drove for us ten years ago.” Getting a seat in Red Bull’s sister team is a step closer to getting his fairytale ending—to finish his career at Red Bull.

But he needs to live up to certain expectations to get to that seat. It’s no secret that the AT04 is one of the slowest cars on the grid this year. With AlphaTauri currently 10th in the championship, Red Bull doesn’t expect the Aussie to get into the car and deliver points finishes every race weekend. But one thing it does expect—for him to have any chance at the second Red Bull seat—is to beat Yuki Tsunoda consistently, something he failed to do at McLaren with Lando Norris. So as of now, his performance compared to Tsunoda’s could make or break his dream.

Who do you think will replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull? Will it be Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda? Or could it be someone else altogether?

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