Sergio Perez's place at Red Bull is reportedly under threat – despite sitting being only Max Verstappen in the current drivers' standings.
Perez, 33, who has 224 points after 17 races, hasn't won a single race since claiming victory in two of the opening four Grand Prix meetings of 2023. Now as risk of being overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, his place on the team might also be uncertain.
Globo report that should Perez fail to hold onto the second place spot in the drivers' standings come the end of the season – he will be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian, who raced for Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, is currently in one of the two Scuderia AlphaTauri hot seats after leaving McLaren last year.
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The report adds that Christian Horner is considering refreshing his selection despite their recent success.
Verstappen has already claimed his third consecutive world championship triumph with Red Bull cruising to a third successive World Constructors' Championship.
Speaking about his future earlier in the week, Perez said: "Well, right now I have a contract for next year. And it will be important to have a good year.
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"I have the motivation to continue, and I want to stay for more years.
"Because I believe that I still have a lot to give in Formula 1. I would like to stay in F1 for at least 3-4 more years."
Team Principal of the Red Bull F1 team Horner has said of the matter: "Checo (Perez) got off to a good start and we need him to re-discover that form as the championship now enters the final phase.
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"But Max dealt with the best car that we've ever produced and he's made the absolute best usage.
"Some of the races that he's driven this year have just been so different, that it's exceeded all our expectations."
Next up on the F1 calendar is United States Grand Prix on October 22, with Hamilton looking to bounce back from his Qatar retirement to make more ground on Perez.
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