Daniel Ricciardo’s recent performance at the Mexican Grand Prix has intensified the pressure on Sergio Perez in the battle for the second Red Bull seat. Ricciardo, who marked his return to Formula One by securing a remarkable seventh-place finish, accumulated his first points since his comeback.
Ricciardo’s impressive qualifying performance, where he secured fourth place, was reminiscent of AlphaTauri’s best result since the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. During the race, he finished just 0.55 seconds behind the usually faster Mercedes of George Russell, although he was 41 seconds adrift of the race winner, Max Verstappen in a Red Bull.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, commended Ricciardo’s performance, expressing his appreciation for the Australian’s outstanding qualifying and his maturity and experience during the race. Horner noted that Ricciardo was in an AlphaTauri and still managed to compete with a Mercedes, achieving the team’s best result of the year.
Horner added, “You couldn’t fail to be impressed by Daniel this weekend.” He highlighted the significance of Ricciardo’s performance, especially considering his recent return from injury and the challenges he faced while on the sidelines.
”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.”
Ricciardo’s six points at the Mexican Grand Prix were his first top-10 finish since his return to Formula One with AlphaTauri in July, following his departure from McLaren. The race also saw another Australian, Oscar Piastri, finish in eighth place, marking the first time two Australian drivers earned points in the same Grand Prix since 2013 in Brazil.
Ricciardo initially held a top-four position in the race, but he was eventually overtaken by Lewis Hamilton. Following a mid-race restart, he slipped to sixth place, losing out to George Russell, and later, his former McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Nevertheless, his finish helped lift his team from the bottom of the constructors’ championship standings, sending a message to Red Bull’s decision-makers, given his association with their sister team.
Sergio Perez’s struggles in the 2023 season have placed him under mounting pressure to secure his place at Red Bull, particularly as his teammate Max Verstappen has dominated the season with a record-breaking 16 wins in 19 races. Perez’s recent collision with Charles Leclerc in the first corner of the Mexican Grand Prix extended his podium-less streak to five races, further complicating his situation.
Red Bull management has been cautious about guaranteeing Perez’s future, as he has earned 240 points compared to Verstappen’s 491 this season. Daniel Ricciardo’s return to racing at AlphaTauri has been seen as a potential challenge to Perez’s position at Red Bull, as the team closely monitors the Australian’s progress.
Ricciardo, who had previously won seven races with Red Bull between 2014 and 2018, holds the distinction of being the only teammate to outscore Verstappen over the course of a season, achieving this feat in 2017 during Verstappen’s first full year with the team.
