Despite Sergio Perez’s continued struggles in the second Red Bull seat, Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t appear to be in the frame as an immediate replacement.
Perez was knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the British Grand Prix – the fifth race in succession he will start the grand prix outside the top 10.
In each of these five races, teammate Max Verstappen has started from pole.
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Perez’s continued form slump immediately brought about calls for Ricciardo to be shoehorned into his seat.
But those suggestions have been shot down by Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko, who delivered the message with a slight sting.
“Perez has some weaknesses, this can’t be denied if one car takes pole and the other can’t even exit Q1,” Marko said after qualifying.
“But there is nobody who would be a viable replacement for him right now.”
Ricciardo returned to Red Bull this season as a reserve driver after two difficult years at McLaren – save for that famous win at Monza in the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
When Ricciardo arrived back at Red Bull, the team claimed he was a shadow of his former self, having clearly been forced to adapt his naturally aggressive driving style in his four years away from Red Bull.
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He will get his first drive in Red Bull F1 machinery since the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a tyre test for Pirelli this week, and then another at Monza.
Marko himself admitted the tyre tests are being used as an “evaluation” of Ricciardo’s pace, but more likely with an eye towards a seat at junior squad AlphaTauri for 2024.
Ricciardo’s former team McLaren enjoyed their strongest showing of the year in qualifying at Silverstone. Lando Norris will start second, and Oscar Piastri third.
The British Grand Prix starts at midnight on Sunday.
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