For a long time, there has been a rumor about Daniel Ricciardo replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull. But the Austrian outfit has not changed the driver’s lineup in the last three years. It has been Checo and Max Verstappen. In the last season, the Mexican driver managed to win a couple of races. On the other hand, his teammate won as many as 19 races. It is a record that really seems very hard to break. The Dutch racer did not give any other rival a chance to make the season a competitive one. Red Bull actually went on to win 21 of 22 races. The one they did not win was in Singapore, where Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr emerged victorious.
If Checo had won in the San Marina circuit, then the Milton Keynes outfit could claim every race win last year. However, since 2022, a huge gap between Sergio Perez and his teammate has been quite noticeable. Moreover, this season where the competition has become very high, the big gap between Checo and Max is causing problems for Christian Horner’s team in the constructor standings. That’s why fans believe it is high time to replace Perez.
Will Daniel Ricciardo Replace Sergio Perez In The Next Dutch GP?
Last year, Red Bull signed Daniel Ricciardo back as their third driver. But the Aussie driver didn’t get to drive RB19 at any Grand Prix. Later, RBR moved him to their sister team, Alpha Tauri to get him back to racing groove. Before showcasing his speed with the RB team, he hadn’t raced at an F1 GP for a while. Hence, RBR wanted to see if the ‘Honey Badger’ is ready to replace Checo. But then Christian Horner and his team kept showing faith in Perez despite his struggles and inconsistencies. They even extended Checo’s contract despite him dropping from second spot to seventh at the grid in Spa this year. Horner said Checo remains an RBR driver despite rumors of late. They hope that the Mexican driver will perform well at the circuits where he generally does well after the summer break. Many fans and experts couldn’t believe Red Bull retaining Checo.
Moroever, the Dutch Grand Prix’s official app seemed to believe Daniel Ricciardo will drive alongside the reigning champion at Verstappen’s home circuit. The app described VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo as “The Honey Badger is cuddly on the outside but fierce on the inside.” Fans believe the Aussie driver is formidable, and razor-sharp driver with grit. But then the Dutch GP’s official app made a misstep when they said, “As Max Verstappen’s teammate, Ricciardo keeps on striving for success.” However, it is not the first time that there has been a misstep or call about Ricciardo replacing Checo.
Karun Chandhok Apologized Checo Fans For Calling Ricciardo “Verstappen’s Teammate”
During the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Max Verstappen told the F1 pundit Karun Chandhok that he would be up for taking part in the RAC Tourist Trophy. The Dutch racer mentioned, “It would be fun in one car with Daniel.” In reply, Chandhok said, “Oh, you would be good teammates.” Later, the camera zoomed out to display Sergio Perez standing there, trying his best to put on a smile. Then, Chandhok faced backlash from the fans of the Mexican driver.
Later, he apologized, saying, “I apologize if you think I was disrespectful to Checo, but we were talking about Goodwood Revival and not Formula 1.” He noted that the fans saw just a small edit but not the whole video, which made them think he was being disrespectful.
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