Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 comeback with AlphaTauri brought a lot of rumors and speculations along with it. Many speculated that Sergio Perez was the reason why Nyck De Vries was sacked. As the Mexican’s performances over the last 5 weekends have dropped significantly, it is speculated that Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri stint is like a task that he’ll have to complete for a Red Bull seat next year. However, all those rumors have been put to bed as Daniel Ricciardo’s fairytale dream takes a brutal hit. What is this brutal blow?

Red Bull seems to be in no hurry to replace Sergio Perez. Despite being known for notoriously replacing drivers, Red Bull always gives out a public warning before sacking a driver. As it happened with Nyck De Vries recently just like with RBR rejects Pierre Gasly & Alex Albon in the past. Sergio Perez, despite the poor qualifying, has been making up places every weekend and scoring a good bunch of points. There’s no warning from Red Bull as of yet. 

ESPN’s Unlapped podcast talks about the same. According to the Unlapped podcast, the host said “I don’t think Red Bull see Ricciardo yet as the guy to replace Perez. You know in 2018 [2019] when Gasly was underperforming, we were being briefed. At the time, Red Bull was very clear to us, behind the scenes, that ‘this guy has got to improve or else he’s out’. When Albon was underperforming, it was clear that there was a tone of ‘these performances just aren’t good enough’.”

Explain how it’s different in Sergio Perez’s case he added “We’re not getting the same with Perez. They are frustrated but they are seeing signs in the race that he is performing. Christian Horner is convinced that as soon as he sorts out whatever this mental hangup he’s got on Saturdays is, he’ll be fine”

Even if Perez were to be replaced at the end of the season, the F1 owners have asked Red Bull to have 2 competitive drivers in the seat. And guess what? Daniel Ricciardo isn’t even on Red Bull’s target. Who is it then?

Read More: Cat & Mouse Games Start Between Red Bull & Sergio Perez After Daniel Ricciardo Gets Deployed as a Cure for “Mental Hang Up”

Red Bull speculated to target 2 F1 stars for 2024 as per American Owner’s request

Ever since the start of the 2023 season, Max Verstappen has been the clear favorite to win the championship. While he is dominating like we expected him to, the race does get boring when the winner is already known. However, Liberty Media has come up with a solution for the same.

The Owners have asked Red Bull to sign a competitive driver alongside Max Verstappen so that even if the team is dominating, the two teammates can compete and put on a spectacle. It is rumored that Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc are the Red Bull targets. This begs the question ‘What will happen to Daniel Ricciardo next year?’

What do you think? Is Red Bull interested in retaining Sergio Perez?

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