“I Was in a Similar Position Last Year”: Daniel Ricciardo Empathizes With Sergio Perez Despite Having Aspiration to Clinch His Seat

Sergio Perez has had quite a disappointing 2023 season so far. Amidst speculations regarding his future at the team, as per a recent report by Esto, Daniel Ricciardo empathizes with Perez as he went through a similar experience last year.

Ricciardo was a part of McLaren for the 2022 season and had a nightmarish time in Woking. The honey badger failed to live up to expectations. Plus, his teammate, Lando Norris was constantly outperforming him.

Poor Ricciardo 😥#F1 #USGP #DanielRicciardo #McLaren #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/VTBxOgyY3g

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) October 24, 2022

Ricciardo told Esto, “There is a lot of pressure. I was in a similar position last year when people said: ‘he’s doing very poorly at McLaren compared to Lando. Why is he still racing? He should get out of the sport.’”

However, it is Ricciardo himself who poses the biggest threat to Perez when it comes to a Red Bull seat. After making his grand comeback in F1 with AlphaTauri, Ricciardo has been extremely open about his desire to drive for Red Bull one day.

A return to Red Bull would be a dream for Daniel Ricciardo

When asked about a possible return to Red Bull, Ricciardo said, “Of course it is my goal.  After going through ups and downs in my career, it would be a dream for me to come back and race for Red Bull Racing again.”

However, the Australian also made it clear that he wants to win the seat fair and square. He explained that he wishes absolutely nothing bad for anyone including Sergio Perez and wants to claim the seat based on his talent and results.

🚨 @ErikvHaren reports that internally it’s known that Marko has doubts about Ricciardo, and is still dissapointed he left for Renault in 2018

Horner however, is a fan of Ricciardo, and if Checo were to be replaced, Daniel would be first in line. pic.twitter.com/X9pYZJnq1P

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) October 19, 2023

As of now, Perez has a contract with the Milton Keynes outfit till the end of 2024. However, with a team like Red Bull, contracts aren’t really worth any kind of security as was clear when Nyck De Vries was sacked after only 10 races into the 2023 season.

Perez desperately needs to step up his game if he wants to retain his F1 seat. While he has already made it clear that he wishes to stay in the sport for at least three to four more years, he would need results to back it up.