Daniel Ricciardo wants to return to Red Bull, a secret he didn’t try to hide when he joined the team as a reserve driver at the start of the year. However, according to Red Bull team principal Chrisitan Horner‘s recent comments, Ricciardo’s dreams could get squashed at least for the time being.
Sergio Perez has had a woeful 2023 season so far. The Mexican driver has struggled to match teammate Max Verstappen, with the latter scoring more than double the amount of points Perez has up until now. This led to increased rumors of Perez getting sacked by Red Bull.
Daniel is back! 👊@danielricciardo, on loan from @redbullracing, will be racing for us for the remainder of the #F1 season, starting from the Hungarian GP.
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— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) July 11, 2023
However, Perez’s future seems to be safe. This is as per a report published by Fox Sports, where Horner is quoted by Motorsport saying, “I am absolutely confident and clear that Checo will be our driver next year.”
Horner reminded everyone that the line-up for AlphaTauri has been revealed already. Ricciardo is a part of their sister team, and as things stand, that is where he will remain in 2024. Still, the honey badger will be eyeing the big seat, especially if something spectacular happens.
Daniel Ricciardo wants to be Max Verstappen’s teammate
At the moment, there is no driver as strong as Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has won three world titles in a row, and is driving for a team that is seemingly unstoppable. Defeating Verstappen could be a long shot, but even the Red Bull second-seat is highly coveted.
Ricciardo will be looking to get that seat sooner rather than later. There are plenty of younger drivers waiting for an opportunity on the sidelines. If Perez does continue with the team, he will have to be at his best.
Ricciardo for one, will be eagerly watching how Perez performs in the last two races this season, and how he starts the next campaign. If Perez fails, Red Bull shouldn’t shy away from sacking him midway. Considering he is already performing well for AlphaTauri, he will be the first name to come up.
On the other hand, if the Perth-born driver fails to deliver, his younger teammate Yuki Tsunoda could get the heads up.
