The door is reportedly wide open for Daniel Ricciardo to take Red Bull’s No.2 driver slot behind Max Verstappen, with claims Sergio Perez is at risk of losing his seat if he cannot reverse his form.
Despite signing a two-year contract extension to stay at Red Bull until 2026 recently, Auto Motor und Sport reports the Mexican, 34, could be in danger of losing his seat if he doesn’t show signs of improvement, with Ricciardo the leading candidate to replace him.
Perez has fallen to fifth on the F1 drivers’ standings and failed reach the podium in six consecutive races, recording just 15 points.
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The report states Red Bull have not ruled a seat swap between the Aussie and Perez. It’s understood both drivers have clauses in their contracts that allows Red Bull to do so.
“Obviously Sergio has had a tough spell,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports on Friday.
“His first five races were very competitive. The last five have been nowhere, and we want to see the Sergio from the first five back. He knows that, he’s aware of that, he’s been working hard in the sim this week, working hard to understand where it’s just not playing out for him.
“But what we’ve constantly seen with him is this resilience to be able to bounce back. We’re hoping to see that very soon.”
Asked whether Red Bull had offered Perez a contract extension too early, Horner said: “That’s a brutally hard question.
“It made absolute sense to sign Checo at that point in time, but this is a business in which there are pressures to deliver.”
Horner added: “We thought the contract would help. I think it’s something that Checo is working very hard on, and he knows this is a sport where there’s no hiding.
“Particularly with Max Verstappen as your teammate. He knows he’s being measured against the very best, and we need him up there supporting Max, because there’s two McLarens now, there’s two Ferraris, there’s two Mercedes and we need there to be desperately two Red Bulls.”
Sergio Perez (from left) of Mexico and Red Bull Racing with Daniel Ricciardo of RB and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Red Bull Racing at the Monaco Grand Prix. Mark Thompson via Getty Images
In addition to Horner’s comments, Red Bull Racing chief adviser Helmut Marko responded to the German publication’s claims about Perez and whether he was at risk of being replaced.
“We will know more during the summer holidays,” Marko said.
The sudden turn of events is a godsend for the Australian, who previously raced with Red Bull from 2014 to 2018.
Ricciardo has had a mixed start to his 2024 campaign with RB, sitting 13th on the standings with 11 points.
However, the 35-year-old has shown signs of improvement over the past month, securing points finishes in Canada and Austria.