There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Daniel Ricciardo is aiming for the Red Bull second seat. After impressive testing in July, followed by an impressive return in AlphaTauri, he looks primed to take that role. Sergio Perez’s miserable run of form has also contributed significantly to his chances of going back to his old seat soon.

However, Sergio Perez’s late comeback to form, along with the silence from the Austrian camp, means that it’s likely the Mexican will get another run there. Ricciardo will have to put his dreams on hold, at least for now, as even Christian Horner comes in support of Sergio Perez.

Christian Horner quashes Ricciardo’s aspirations of a Red Bull return

Daniel Ricciardo has made his career goals very clear after his move away from McLaren. In fact, he has even apologized to the Red Bull team boss for the poorly advised move to Renault at the end of the 2018 season. He wants that Red Bull second seat, and he wants it bad. Speaking to Tom Clarkson in the Beyond the Grid Podcast, he had the following to say about his Red Bull dream.

“I’m not even going to put a day, or date on it, or year, whatever. I think coming back into it and jumping back in with the Red Bull family, doing the test in July, all these things, working with Simon again, that’s really the dream. Honestly, to end my career as a Red Bull driver would be perfect. Not that I’m looking at the end, but if I go back there, then I’ll certainly make sure I finish there.”

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However, 2024 might not be the year where the Aussie achieves his dream. British team boss Christian Horner, in an interview with Motorsport.com, has continued to back Sergio Perez. “We had the opportunity to evaluate Pierre very well, the way he drove, his strengths and weaknesses. I’ve known Sergio for a long time. I pushed hard to bring him into the team, especially due to his wealth of experience. He won four races for us, he played a crucial role in the championship in 2021, so I think he justified why we signed him.”

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Christian Horner has always maintained that the second seat would only be in question for the ’25 season. However, rumors suggest otherwise. Despite all the scuttlebutt making the rounds, Horner has previously also backed Perez after the calamitous Mexican GP for the home favorite.

Christian Horner to Perez’s Rescue

Even during the bad times, when Perez was going through a rough patch of form, Horner always had Perez’s back, at least in the public eye. Especially after a disastrous Lap 1 DNF in Mexico, Horner put to ground a lot of the rumors, stating that Perez’s seat is very much confirmed till the end of the ’24 season. Any replacement talks, especially as Ricciardo is the alternate driver, would only take place for the ’25 season.

Some outlets even speculated on a potential early retirement for Checo. Horner deftly put those speculations to the ground as well. “First of all, there’s absolutely no plan of any retirement!” Horner stated. “there’s always rumours that are circulating in this paddock, especially when there’s very little to write about. [Sergio] has a great relationship with the team, a strong relationship with his team mate, and we want to see him finish second in the championship, which is something we’ve never achieved before – to have a one-two.” True to what Horner said, the Austrian team clamped down and secured P1 and P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.

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However, with the likes of Liam Lawson also knocking on the second seat in AlphaTauri, Red Bull is currently facing a problem that any team in the world would love to have, the problem of too many options.