Ricciardo has surprise F1 rival for Perez's seat in big Red Bull 2024 decision

14 July 2023 , 13:39

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Daniel Ricciardo now has a platform to threaten Sergio Perez's Red Bull seat (Image: Getty Images for Oracle Red Bull)

Another Formula 1 star may rival Daniel Ricciardo for a Red Bull seat if the team decides to axe Sergio Perez.

The Mexican is in his third season with the team and has two victories to his name in 2023. But they came in the first four races and his title challenge has since crumbled.

Perez has failed to qualifying in the top 10 of a race since Miami in early May and has just one podium in that time. As a result, he is now 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen.

Red Bull insist publicly that Perez's place is not under threat, though the subtext of Ricciardo's 'loan' to sister team AlphaTauri is that the Aussie is essentially auditioning for a potential fairytale return to the team if he excels and the Mexican continues to flounder.

Ralf Schumacher, himself a former F1 racer and now a pundit for Sky Germany's coverage, is confident that Perez will still be a Red Bull driver next season – the last of his current contract. But he also admitted "nothing is impossible" when it comes to driver moves.

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"Perez is currently showing that a dominant car is not everything, and yet I strongly believe that he will also be in the Red Bull next year," he wrote in his column for the German broadcaster, before going on to suggest another potential candidate for the seat.

"If Alex Albon were free – which he isn't – or if Ricciardo comes into action now and can show his class, it could perhaps be tight. But he has a contract and therefore I can almost not imagine a separation. But almost nothing is impossible in Formula 1."

Former Red Bull racer Alex Albon has been thriving with Williams (Getty Images)

Albon raced for Red Bull for 18 months after graduating through the team's young driver programme. But he was replaced by Perez at the end of the 2020 season and spent a year out of the sport, returning with Williams.

Since then he has gone from strength to strength, catching the eye in the slowest car on the grid last year and now thriving with the team looking a little more competitive. The British-Thai racer has 10 points to show from his last three races – 11 for the season – and sits 13th in the drivers' standings as a result.

While he no longer has official ties with Red Bull, Albon admitted last month that he is still in regular contact with his old team principal Christian Horner through text messages. However, he waved away suggestions of a future return, adding: "My main focus is with this team. This isn't a short-term situation, I am here for the long run."

Daniel Moxon