The Red Bull squad had a fantastic season in 2022. The amazing efforts of the Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who with his “phenomenal efforts,” led the team to win a constructor’s title after nine years, has nonetheless been eclipsed by Max Verstappen’s outstanding performance.

Sergio Perez had a stupendous season, and this is evident by the fact that he finished the year with 19 podiums and two wins. However, as soon as the season ended, Red Bull signed Daniel Ricciardo as their third driver. And ever since, there have been rumors that the Honey Badger may have a competitive edge over the Mexican driver due to their star driver Max Verstappen’s strong relationship with the Australian driver.

However, dismissing all speculations, Christian Horner commends Sergio Perez‘s work and dispels rumors that Daniel Ricciardo will take Sergio Perez’s seat.

“No, Daniel’s contract is very specific for a specific reason,” said Horner.

Adding further, he said, “We have a contract with Checo for the next two years. What the partnership of Max and Checo has produced has been phenomenal for us, and the five 1-2 finishes so far this year, the constructors’ championship that we haven’t won for eight years is a phenomenal achievement, and obviously the combination of both drivers’ points contributions.”

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Over time, the subject has gained a lot of steam. Many Sergio Perez supporters are quite stressed, but their beloved driver is still “calm.”

Sergio Perez is pretty relaxed after Daniel Ricciardo’s inclusion in the Red Bull

There is a lot of pressure from some pundits and fans that Sergio Perez can be replaced by the team’s backup driver Daniel Ricciardo even though Perez signed a new two-year contract with Red Bull. Additionally, given Danny Ric’s long connection with Milton Keynes, there were rumors that the Mexican driver might not be pleased with his inclusion in the squad.

However, shutting down all of that, Perez told Sky Sports, “I’m pretty relaxed. I mean, we live under a lot of pressure all the time. It doesn’t change anything from my side. I think it’s a great achievement for the team to have a driver like Daniel and he’s going to contribute a lot to our team.”

He added, “He’s a great guy, he’s one of the guys that I get on [with] the most in the paddock, so I think it’s just great to have Daniel in the team, and from my side doesn’t change anything.”

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The year will be recorded at the very top of Red Bull’s heroics. And even though Perez has a contract for the following two seasons, do you think the Milton Keynes side will reconsider pairing Verstappen and Ricciardo together once more?