Max Verstappen ANSWERS whether he would prefer Daniel Ricciardo to Sergio Perez as his Red Bull teammate
Max Verstappen recently talked about whether he would like Daniel Ricciardo or Sergio Perez as his teammate at Red Bull.
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The driver situation at Red Bull is one of the most dynamic pairings amongst those of all the F1 teams. Even when the racers are still under a contract with the Milton Keynes outfit, they can very well be demoted to their sister team if the results are unsatisfactory. And Team Chief Advisor Helmut Marko has a big role to play in these team hirings. Recently, the performance of Max Verstappen‘s teammate Sergio Perez has been subpar since he has fallen back in the rankings compared to Max.
The point difference between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen had narrowed down to just 7 points before the Miami GP earlier this season. But Verstappen’s win at the American race turned out to be the point from where Checo simply fell short of competing with his Dutch teammate. As of now, only three races are remaining before the 2023 season of F1 will come to an end. And the current score gap between Max and Sergio is a whopping 251 points. But even then, Marko has claimed that Sergio Perez will stay with Red Bull for 2024 and might even see a contract renewal later on.
Despite Marko’s reassurance regarding Perez’s place in the team, fans are convinced that Daniel Ricciardo might see a promotion to Red Bull soon. The rumors grew stronger ever since the Australian returned from his extended leave due to his wrist surgery to grab a better Qualifying position than Perez during the Mexican GP weekend. And even though it was his home race, local hero Checo failed to even finish it as he DNFed due to a collision with Charles Leclerc in the first lap itself. And ahead of the Brazilian GP, Max was faced with the question of whome he will prefer as a teammate–Perez or Ricciardo.
Max Verstappen chooses the most diplomatic answer while picking his favorite teammate
Before leaving for a massive deal at Renault in 2018, Daniel Ricciardo was Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull. On the other hand, Sergio Perez joined the team in 2021 and has been instrumental in aiding Max get his first World Championship title against Lewis Hamilton. Having seen both Daniel and Sergio as a teammate, Max commented on whom he would prefer to have as his Red Bull partner in the near future.
They (Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez) have been great teammates and it's not up to me at the end of the day to make these kinds of decisions. So, if it's Checo next year, then great. I have had a great working relationship with him, and also personally, I think he's a great guy. And if it's Daniel, then also we will get along fine and we'll have a great time.Max Verstappen said, as reported by Express.co.uk
Helmut Marko’s recent claim that Sergio Perez might get another contract renewal plays in the favor of Lando Norris entering Red Bull once his McLaren deal ends in 2025. The young racer has already been rumored to have been in talks with the current Championship-winning team. Even since entering F1 in 2019, Lando Norris has stayed loyal to the papaya army but it remains to be seen if he would pass up the chance to stay as Zak Brown’s protege to move to RBR in the next couple of years.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)