Daniel Ricciardo stuns F1 world with Mexico Grand Prix drive – here’s why Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s reaction could be VERY bad news for Sergio Perez
- Ricciardo has piled the pressure on Perez
- Christian Horner lauded the Aussie’s efforts
- Perez has had an underwhelming season
Daniel Ricciardo has piled more pressure on Sergio Perez for the second Red Bull seat after scoring his first points since returning to Formula One with an incredible seventh-place finish at the Mexican Grand Prix.
After qualifying fourth for the Mexico City race, Ricciardo completed AlphaTauri’s best result since last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix when he capitalised on his stunning qualifying result.
Some 41 seconds off race winner Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, Ricciardo finished only 0.55 seconds behind sixth-placed George Russell in the usually much-faster Mercedes.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner lauded the Aussie’s efforts on Monday morning in comments that will do Perez’s peace of mind no favours.
‘You couldn’t fail to be impressed by Daniel this weekend,’ Horner told Sky Sports.
Daniel Ricciardo is putting pressure on Sergio Perez for the second Red Bull seat
‘I mean, his qualifying was outstanding yesterday and he showed his maturity and experience and pace in the race. I think that fighting a Mercedes in an AlphaTauri for their best result of the year, it was a great performance.
‘And had it not been for the red flag [after Kevin Magnussen crashed out], he might have actually finished even even further up.
‘So he can take a lot of confidence, coming back from injury, he’s had a rough time over the last couple of months having to sit on the sidelines, but that’s the Daniel that we’re used to seeing.
‘As we’ve seen in sport, confidence is such a thing and his confidence is coming up. Checo we just need him to have a confidence-boosting result and he could have had it today, but it wasn’t to be.’
Daniel Ricciardo returned to Formula 1 with AlphaTauri in July.
Ricciardo’s six points came in only his second race back from a broken wrist, and mark his first top-10 finish since returning to Formula One in July after being axed by McLaren last year.
Fellow Australian Oscar Piastri came home in eighth in his McLaren – the first time two Aussies have claimed points in the same grand prix since 2013 in Brazil.
Ricciardo held his top-four position for the opening 10 laps, before being passed by Lewis Hamilton.
Sergio Perez crashed out on the very first corner after a collision with Leclerc
Perez is under pressure to retain his seat at Red Bull after a disappointing 2023 season
The 34-year-old fell to sixth after a mid-race restart, beaten off the line by Russell, before being passed by his former McLaren teammate Lando Norris late on.
Ricciardo’s finish is significant given it helped lift his team off last place in the constructors’ championship.
It also makes something of a statement to Red Bull bosses, with Ricciardo driving in their sister team.
Perez is under increasing pressure to retain his drive at Red Bull after a thoroughly underwhelming 2023 season.
While teammate Verstappen has motored to a third straight drivers’ title with a record 16 wins in 19 races, Perez has landed just two victories in the championship’s best car.
The Mexican crashed out on the first corner of his home grand prix on Sunday after a first-corner collision with Charles Leclerc, making for five races without a podium finish.
Red Bull bosses have been hesitant to guarantee his future, with Perez scoring 240 points to Verstappen’s 491 so far this season.
Ricciardo’s return to racing at AlphaTauri three months ago was viewed as a warning for Perez, with Red Bull able to keep a close eye on the Australian’s progression.
Ricciardo won seven races with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, before making a shock decision to leave the team for Renault.
He remains the only teammate to have beaten Verstappen across a season, finishing ahead of the Dutch driver in the youngster’s first full year at Red Bull in 2017.
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