Red Bull is having struggles in 2 directions. One is their sister team, AlphaTauri, being arguably the slowest car on the grid. And to change things around there, Daniel Ricciardo is set to replace underperforming rookie Nyck de Vries, beginning with the Hungarian GP. The other, bigger concern is Sergio Perez hopelessly faltering in Qualifying sessions consistently. But as per analysts, Ricciardo driving for AlphaTauri could be a devious move by Max Verstappen and Co. as a precursor to him replacing Perez in 2024.

Let’s rewind a bit. RB’s main problem is still Perez’s unanticipated consecutive Q1 eliminations. As Max Verstappen extends his win streak, the Mexican extends his streak of not getting into Q3. It has been 5 race weekends now that Perez has missed out on Q3. Could the Honey Badger already know that he’s being set up for driving the best car on the grid?

In the latest episode of the Autosport F1 and Motorsport podcast, Jake Boxall-Legge joined Martyn Lee to discuss this move by Red Bull in detail. And according to Boxall-Legge, Ricciardo is, in fact, being set up to replace Perez in 2024.

Boxall-Legge said, “This isn’t necessarily with a view to getting him in the AlphaTauri drive for 2024. This is with a view to where they go with the second seat in the lead team. This is where they go with regards to Sergio Perez’s future. And so by having him in a race drive is having him at all of the race weekends for the rest of the season. All of the 12 or 13 races that are left. They are gonna be in a position where they can assess his progress over the last 6 months in the simulator.”

While all such kinds of theories float around, Perez seems the most unbothered by all the chatter and noise around. Checo knows he has a contract in place till the end of 2024. So sweating over losing his seat this year may be pressing the panic button, despite contracts being worthless at times in F1. Sergio cited how he is not worried about these rumors.

Read More: Daniel Ricciardo Slapped With Humongous Mountain to Climb in Order to Replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2024

Sergio Perez Says He “Couldn’t Care Less” About His Red Bull Seat Being In Danger

With the kind of season that Sergio Perez has been having, it is unbelievable to see Marko and Horner publicly support him. And according to the Mexican racer, he has no worries about Ricciardo being considered for his seat. When he was asked in an interview what he thinks about his future with Red Bull, he said he “couldn’t care less”. He is choosing to be more focused on his current form.

Perez said, as quoted by Motorsportweek, “In F1 in 13 years I’ve seen it all, not worried about any of that, I’m mainly focused about getting my season back on track and making sure I keep enjoying this. I have full support from Helmut [Marko] and Christian [Horner], the whole team is fully supporting me, they know what I can do, they know my potential, and they are fully behind me.”

Both drivers have their fate in their own hands. How they perform in their respective cars for the rest of the season will decide their future. The Hungarian GP could be an indication of how things will pan out. And one thing is for sure. At the Hungaroring, fans will go absolutely mental if Ricciardo out-qualifies Perez in his tractor of an AlphaTauri.

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