Fans and media experts acknowledge the contributions of Sergio Perez to the Red Bull Racing team. Last season, the Mexican performed a lot better than he ever did. Even then, there is no total harmony between the two drivers in the Red Bull team. Many speculations exist about the uncomfortable chemistry between the 25-year-old current champion and his 33-year-old teammate. Max Verstappen is the current world champion, but he could not have gotten here without his great team, including his partner, Checo. There were lots of instances when Max Verstappen proved his unhealthy relationship with his teammate.
Like when the two drivers fell out at Interlagos, and there was an instance when the team asked the Dutch to let the Mexican cross him, but he did not listen to the team. The heat between the two was confirmed when Red Bull brought back Daniel Ricciardo from McLaren as their third driver. The Aussie always had a good rapport with the Dutch. Questions came up about whether the Aussie would replace Sergio Perez.
At that moment, Boss Christian Horner explained, “Perez is very well aware of his duties in the team. He is brave enough to be the teammate of the current double-time world champion. He helped us a lot to win the constructor’s championship.” However, new speculation is starting to emerge in the form of Alpha Tauri’s latest recruit, Nyck de Vries.
Mercedes Engineer Thinks Nyck De Vries Can Replace Sergio Perez
According to the chief engineer of the Silver Arrows, Andrew Shovlin, their former reserve driver, may soon move to the big team of the Austrian conglomerate, Red Bull GmbH, from the sister team. The 28-year-old Nyck de Vries can replace Sergio Perez in Christian Horner’s team. There is a possibility, as it would delight Verstappen, to have a countryman replace the teammate with whom he might be going through a rough patch. If the two Dutch drivers partner up, they can pose a significant threat to the title-retaining dream of Mercedes-Benz. That’s what Shovlin is afraid of and the reason why he regrets leaving the Dutch. Nyck was part of Mercedes when he had to live under the shadow of the seven-time champion.
From Mercedes, he moved to Aston Martin and then to Williams as a test driver and on loan. Later Nyck replaced Pierre Gasly in the sister team of Red Bull Racing. Hence, his debut season for Alpha Tauri in 2023 would significantly boost his career. Only time will tell if Nyck de Vries replaces Sergio Perez in the Austrian team for the following seasons. Nyck is actually three years older than the current double-time champion but both hail from the same place. Max Verstappen went on to be the youngest driver in F1 Motorsport at the age of 17. In contrast, his fellow countryman currently in Alpha Tauri took ten years to start his racing career. Only time will tell if they will merge someday to become a championship-winning duo for Red Bull.