Daniel Ricciardo returned to his old self in the Mexico City Grand Prix thanks to the substantial adjustments made to his Alpha Tauri. His outstanding display astounded not only the supporters and opponents but also the Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner. In addition to boasting about his and Red Bull’s initial faith in the Australian, Horner remarked that “it was great” to see the Honey Badger perform so well.
It’s interesting to note that besides bringing back memories of his time with Red Bull, Ricciardo’s performance in the AT04 also impacted his team’s fortune. With a P7 finish, he scored a few significant points that helped the team move up two spots in the constructor’s championship. The Australian’s exceptional efforts have had a positive effect on the team, a feat that Sergio Perez also aimed to accomplish, but his bad run prevented him from doing so.
Unfortunately, Perez has witnessed his current season fall apart to the extent that rumors are rampant that Red Bull may fire him and assign Max Verstappen a new teammate. However, Horner has once again made his intentions clear post the Mexico City GP for the 2024 season.
“Checo has an agreement with us for next year and that’s our intention, for him to be in the car in 2024,” Horner carefully stated.
“We’ll give him all the support we can to ensure that he finishes second [in the drivers’ standings] but there’s no prerequisite that if he doesn’t finish second, you’re out.”
On one hand, where Perez, since the Miami GP, has offered little to no value to his team, Daniel Ricciardo has elevated his team to P8 and boosted their value by $20 million. In addition, Ricciardo’s performance at a track where Perez could not finish the race could be used as grounds to support his inclusion in the Red Bull lineup for the 2024 season.
Following Daniel Ricciardo’s shenanigans in Mexico, Sergio Perez isn’t feeling pleased
With Ricciardo playing like his old self and Sergio Perez failing to meet Christian Horner’s expectations of qualifying in the “first couple of rows,” the competition for Red Bull’s coveted seat is only becoming more heated. The Milton Keynes team is surely going to have a tough choice next year following Ricciardo’s victory over Sergio Perez during qualifying. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Ricciardo shocked Sergio Perez by placing fourth, forcing the latter to hide his disappointment.
The fact that Perez is driving a car that is superior to the AT04 and is still failing has undoubtedly disheartened him. For this reason, the Mexican was observed answering in a very gloomy way in one of his interviews with the Race. In light of his frustrating weekend and Ricciardo’s magical race, Perez said, “Daniel [Ricciardo] did a tremendous lap. [But] I don’t think it’s just Daniel who wants my seat. Let’s say there are a lot of other drivers that want to be in that seat, and it’s great. If it’s what they deserve then I’m happy for them.”
In light of the current situation, where Perez has once again buckled under pressure, Ricciardo showed why Red Bull first believed in him. However, with three races left, it will be intriguing to see if Ricciardo continues to outperform Perez or if the Australian driver’s performance was a fluke.
