Daniel Ricciardo Extends an Olive Branch to Sergio Perez

For long, the debate around Daniel Ricciardo potentially replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull has been raging on. While there has been no official statement regarding the same, the popular belief is that the Australian is all but certain to get his Red Bull seat back. With almost everything at stake, both drivers head into each race with immense pressure.

 

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has praised an “outstanding” Daniel Ricciardo performance in #F1‘s #MexicoGP as the Australian “looked like the Daniel of old” 🤙

Horner even revealed that the delta between Ricciardo and Max Verstappen was less than one-tenth of a second 😲 pic.twitter.com/fWEHxHyEdM

— Autosport (@autosport) November 2, 2023

Given the same, neither driver has taken the time to address much about their ‘rival,’ despite being well aware of the added mental burden. However, Ricciardo has now taken the initiative to talk about the elephant in the room as extends an olive branch towards Perez as he is familiar with the mental toll of such expectations, as seen in an interview clip uploaded on X by user Meredith.

“Last year I was on the other end of it, call it the negative side of the rumors. It’s my dream one day, that would be the fairytale to get back to Red Bull Racing. But in saying that I don’t wish the negativity on anyone after I experienced that.”

Despite Red Bull being the constructor’s champion and housing the current driver’s champion, all is not well within the camp. With immense uncertainty circling the team regarding their future, the foremost problem at hand would be to solve their driver crisis as Perez continues the search for his lost form and confidence.

As the Daniel Ricciardo threat become more real, Sergio Perez has one last chance

With Perez unable to reciprocate the dominance of Max Verstappen despite driving the same car, Red Bull has been in conflict about retaining the Mexican driver for another year. On the other hand, Ricciardo’s impressive drives have only added to the misery of Perez while increasing the conflict in the minds of the Red Bull top execs. Given the same, it looks like Perez is on the last legs of his stint with Red Bull, but all hope is not lost for the 33-year-old.

 

Max Verstappen refused to comment on the possibility of having a new team-mate out of respect for Sergio Perez🎩 pic.twitter.com/8mk622AalJ

— Racing Infinity (@RacingInfinity1) November 3, 2023

Having secured the constructor’s and the driver’s title, only one achievement eludes the Milton Keynes-based outfit. The team wants to secure a 1-2 finish in the driver’s championship, and all hopes of achieving the same lie with Perez. Given his slump, Lewis Hamilton has cut down the gap to P2 to only 20 points with three races to go. Should Perez be able to defend his position in the standings, there is little chance Red Bull will replace the Guadalajara-born driver before his contract ends. If not, the next three races might as well be the last three races for Perez in a Red Bull suit.