Snubbing Daniel Ricciardo, F1 Expert Tips a Rookie to Replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo delighted fans around the world when he made his return to the F1 grid a few months ago with AlphaTauri. At the time of signing for the Italian outfit, the Australian made it clear that he wants to use this move as a stepping stone for him to move to the senior Red Bull team sometime in the future. Even though the 34-year-old is keen to return to the Milton Keynes outfit, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes that there are better options. The F1 expert has tipped rookie Liam Lawson as the favorite to replace the struggling Sergio Perez at Red Bull.

The New Zealander has made the most of his opportunity after he replaced Ricciardo for the Dutch Grand Prix when the former McLaren driver injured his wrist in a nasty crash. Since stepping in for Ricciardo, Lawson has already scored a couple of points after just three F1 races.

With Lawson having impressed despite being a rookie, Perez’s seat is under huge threat as he has struggled massively this year despite all his years of experience. While Red Bull have confirmed that Perez will drive for them in 2024, the speculations surrounding his future do not seem to cease with plenty of options that can replace him.

Jordan believes Lawson is the perfect individual to replace Perez

While speaking on the most recent episode of the Formula for Success podcast, Eddie Jordan gave his thoughts on the drivers who can replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. The Irish businessman stated that if the Milton Keynes outfit are considering replacing the Mexican, then he will replace him with someone new.

“Lawson [also] has that ability. I think he will next year or the year after ends up at Red Bull,” stated Jordan (as quoted by gpblog.com). The New Zealander has impressed Jordan so much that he even went to the extent of comparing the 21-year-old to four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

Just outside points today coming home P11.. Thank you @AlphaTauriF1 for all the hard work over the weekend 🇯🇵🙌🏽@redbull | @RodinCars | Giltrap Group | @Cumulo9 | Tony Quinn Foundation | Turners Cars | Porter Group CE pic.twitter.com/qpLbWhAu7N

— Liam Lawson (@LiamLawson30) September 24, 2023

Jordan stated that just like the legendary German driver, Lawson just needs a few races to gain experience to directly step into the Red Bull team. Considering how impressive Lawson has been, several F1 experts are already comparing him to some of the greats of the sport.

How has Daniel Ricciardo performed in comparison to Liam Lawson?

Even though Daniel Ricciardo is an eight-time race winner and has several years of experience, he has struggled recently. It were his struggles at McLaren that resulted in him losing his seat at the end of last season. Hence, if the Australian is keen to get that second Red Bull seat in the future, he will once again need to prove himself.

However, he now has several worthy adversaries to beat. Liam Lawson has already scored a couple of points for AlphaTauri after his first three races, something that Ricciardo has not managed in his couple of races so far.

Another option that Red Bull have is Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver is accustomed to the way Red Bull operates as he is now into his third season at AlphaTauri.

While the 23-year-old did struggle to score points for the team at the start of this season, he has also been extremely unlucky. Hence, since there are so many talented drivers, Ricciardo will have to sweat it out to ensure that he is the most deserving among them to get that second seat at Red Bull.