Upon losing his Formula 1 seat at McLaren in mid-2022, Daniel Ricciardo made it clear that he wanted another chance in a top car to show his talent. Unfortunately for him, all the seats were locked up and he didn't fancy a seat at Haas, and so elected to take 2023 off as a sabbatical. But following the ousting of Nyck de Vries from AlphaTauri after the British Grand Prix, 34-year-old Ricciardo will be given that rarest of things in F1: a second chance. While this is certainly about the underperformance of de Vries, it is also Red Bull sending a warning to Sergio Perez who is currently in a rut of form, especially in Qualifying.
Ricciardo's warning to Perez
By all metrics, the 2023 AlphaTauri AT04 machine is the worst car on the grid. It only has two points finishes to its name and has problems with instability at the rear on corner entry which then morphs into understeer in the middle of it. The huge upgrade package introduced at Silverstone over the weekend just gone did little to temper that, although the team did hit their targets. It is a team which is rudderless at the moment with long-time boss Franz Tost heading for retirement with Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies set to provide a much-needed rejuvenation. Tost even publicly slammed his engineering team in Saudi Arabia by saying he did not "trust" them. At best, Ricciardo is going to be snipping for a Q2 place, possibly even a Q3 slot if everything is optimised. He certainly won't be in contention for those wins and podiums he feels he is still capable of. So, the question is then, why would he agree to drive this car? What is in it for him? Put simply, behind the smile and wide grin, he hopes to snatch that second Red Bull race seat from Perez. Call him the silent, smiling assassin if you will. At 34, Ricciardo is not going to be around for the long-term rebuilding set to commence under Bayer and Mekies, which is to include taking as many parts as is allowed from Red Bull from next season. Liam Lawson then - the next cab off the junior rank - would surely be the better option to essentially give him a free hit for the remainder of 2023 before allowing him a fresh start alongside fourth-year veteran Tsunoda at the start of '24. Unless Red Bull want to send a message to Perez to either buck his ideas up and start putting the RB19 where it should be, or get busy updating his CV, that is.
Red Bull send message to Perez
It is quite clear to see where Perez's 2023 season peaked: when Charles Leclerc stacked it during Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, sealing pole position for the Mexican. Max Verstappen was down in ninth as Perez earned P1 on the grid, and looked set to potentially take the lead of the Drivers' standings for the first time in his career, until Verstappen caught and passed him to win. Since then, Verstappen has claimed 136 of 138 points on the table across Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria and Britain, only missing fastest lap in Monte Carlo and Montreal. During that run, he also has five pole positions while remarkably, Perez has missed Q3 at every race through a combination of crashes, wet weather and a lack of pace. His blushes are being saved by the dominance of Verstappen and the RB19 - who'd be leading the Constructors' by 52 points by himself if he were a team - but that is only due to luck. As long as Verstappen wins the Drivers' and Red Bull the Constructors' that will do for the team. But had Mercedes or Aston Martin or Ferrari been snipping at the heels, then it would be a different story. As soon as the others up their game, Perez's run of form of 16-4-6-3-6 across those five races would simply not cut the mustard. If Verstappen wins, Perez needs to be at best second, at worst third. After all, wasn't consistent podiums and a dutiful number two the exact reason Alex Albon was disregarded at the end of 2020 in favour of Perez? Perez's contract is up at the end of 2024, so that gives him plenty of time to get his act together and start delivering the results he was at the start of 2023. Ricciardo has got nothing to lose during his loan spell from Red Bull to the junior team and everything to gain. Perez on the other hand has everything to lose and nothing to gain. It is a fascinating dynamic that will play out over the remaining 12 races of the 2023 season.
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