Christian Horner breaks silence on rumors about Daniel Ricciardo replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2024

Rumors surround the paddock regarding the Mexican's 2024 Red Bull seat.

Christian Horner breaks silence on rumors about Daniel Ricciardo replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2024

Daniel Ricciardo, Christian Horner and Sergio Perez (via IMAGO)

Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner breaks silence in continuation of the drama of Red Bull driver Sergio Perez‘s 2024 seat. According to recent paddock rumors, Red Bull was reportedly trying to get Daniel Ricciardo to replace the Mexican for 2024. However, this move was rather revolted by the team’s advisor Helmut Marko because of the driver’s lack of loyalty to the team who left the team to join Renault in 2019.

Sergio Perez is not having a best-of-a-season this year. The Mexican’s strong start to the season was followed by immense disappointing drives. He was frequently knocked out in Qualifying in Q3. However, the Red Bull driver thinks he is still the perfect fit for the team and will improve for the rest of the races. He was defended by his team principal recently, before the US GP.

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Christian Horner said, “It’s not something that we have discussed or even contemplated. Checo is our driver and we want to support him in the best possible way we can.” he told the media on Thursday Press Conference. He showed his open confidence in Perez in this tough run to defend his P2 position in the Driver’s Standings from the Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

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“Three days on the simulator in succession to try to help him get to the root cause of some of the issues he felt he had in Qatar and Japan,” said the Red Bull team principal ahead of the Austin GP. “I think he made some great progress, hopefully, that will come to the fore this weekend. He’s going the extra yard, which is so important.”

Discover: Sergio Perez scoffs at retirement rumors on Reddit, claims he is ‘just laughing’ at those

Is Daniel Ricciardo a possible replacement for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat?

Daniel Ricciardo will be making his return to the Austin GP after being out of the AlphaTauri due to a wrist injury he suffered at the Dutch GP. According to rumors, Red Bull is closely monitoring Ricciardo’s simulator time. There were even reports about Red Bull wanting to use both Ricciardo and Perez alongside Max Verstappen in 2024.

Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo
Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo (via Twitter / RBR)

The team’s advisor Helmut Marko has criticised the Mexican’s performance but still doesn’t have trust in Ricciardo due to the driver’s past disloyalty to the team. Marko has also kept Ricciardo’s replacement Liam Lawson away from other teams. The team might plan to promote him to Red Bull in 2025.

Perez is currently P2 in the Driver’s Standings. He is being chased down by Lewis Hamilton who’s currently running P3 in the Championship behind him. His P2 confirmation is important for both him and Red Bull, which might decide the Mexican’s future with the team.

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