Will Ricciardo replace the ailing Pérez? Horner says the Australian was magnificent in Mexico

Daniel Ricciardo had a great Mexican Grand Prix. The Australian driver finished a sensational seventh place in the AlphaTauri, one of the slowest cars in the world. And his performance was praised by Red Bull boss Christian Horner. But will not only this great weekend be enough for Ricciardo to replace the tragic Sergio Pérez in the Austrian stable?

Already on Saturday, Ricciardo managed a small miracle by qualifying for the main race in fourth place. By the way, he also beat Sergio Pérez in a much faster Red Bull.

Then on Sunday, the Australian followed up his performance by scoring six points for an amazing seventh place, and he was still attacking sixth place George Russell in his Mercedes on the last lap.

Unsurprisingly, his actions were noticed by the boss of the parent Red Bull stable, Christian Horner. He praised Ricciardo and said it was exactly the reason they brought him to AlphaTauri.

“This weekend was really fantastic. It’s great to see him perform like this, which is exactly why we brought him back to AlphaTauri. He was the same old Daniel,” Horner told Motorsport.com. 

Asked if Ricciardo was limited by the characteristics of the car at McLaren, the Red Bull boss replied, “I don’t think so. I think this sport is all about the head. And now Daniel is back to his old self. You can see how calm and confident he is again.”

Ricciardo to Red Bull instead of Pérez?

Many fans now believe that the Australian is a hot candidate to take the seat of ‘Checo’ Perez at Red Bull next season, following on from poor performances in recent races in Mexico when he was knocked out of the race at the first corner through no fault of his own.

But Horner and the rest of the team continue to dismiss the speculation. “Checo has signed a contract with us for next year. And our intention is to have him in our car for the 2024 season,” said the Red Bull championship boss.

“We will support him as much as possible to finish second in the drivers’ championship. But if that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t automatically mean he will be finished with the team,” Horner concluded.

Source: Scuderia AlphaTauri, Motorsport.com