With only 20 seats available to race at the pinnacle of motorsport, becoming a Formula 1 driver requires you to be a complete package. That includes being likable and marketable to draw in sponsorship money for your team on top of having gifted driving talent. And right now, Sergio Perez is only hitting the mark with one of those two things by bringing in a ton of money in terms of sponsorship deals and merchandise sales. And while Red Bull can’t complain in terms of his driving, having helped the team secure their first-ever 1-2 finish in the championship, Christian Horner’s latest remarks might spell trouble for the Mexican driver.

Ever since the return of Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull, there have been talks about him possibly replacing Sergio Perez to take the second seat alongside Max Verstappen. These talks gained momentum when Ricciardo was loaned to AlphaTauri in the middle of the season. Formula 1 expert Ted Kravitz said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast that despite his major financial contributions to the Milton-Keynes squad, Checo is at risk of losing his seat if Verstappen’s former teammate performs well. And Christian Horner has now confirmed that the second seat at Red Bull is Perez’s to lose.

Christian Horner says sponsorships have nothing to do with Sergio Perez keeping his seat in 2025

It would be fair to say that Max Verstappen beat Sergio Perez thoroughly in 2023. Scoring more than double the points than your teammate, who is 2nd in the championship, speaks a lot about Max’s dominance, but it also speaks about the form of the Mexican as well. In a recent conversation, Christian Horner emphasized that Sergio Perez himself holds the key to securing his spot with the team for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Christian Horner acknowledged that Checo has the Red Bull seat because the team considers him to be the best driver to be alongside Max Verstappen at the moment. However, all that could change depending on the performance of Ricciardo and Perez in 2024. “We’re in a luxury position where there’s an awful lot of people that want to be sat in that car. We just have to weigh up what is best for the team,” Horner told Speedcafe.

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“It’s Checo’s seat to lose. He’s the incumbent of that seat, and a lot will depend on how next season goes for him. We really galvanized behind him and really supported him,” he added. However, the conversation got interesting when Horner spoke about whether the sponsorship deals might play a role in Checo’s contract beyond 2024.

Is Daniel Ricciardo the Right Replacement for Sergio Perez?

“Whatever sponsors we have are totally independent of any driver,” said Horner. He also emphasized that the team’s goal is to keep the best driver pairing possible, saying, “Checo is in the car based on merit because we believe he is the best driver to be alongside Max. It has nothing to do with any of our partners.”

There’s no denying that Daniel Ricciardo is a top-tier driver. However, Red Bull might be tempted to put him alongside Max if the Australian returns to top form in 2024.

2018 spec Daniel Ricciardo could tempt Red Bull to sack Perez

Ricciardo was in prime form in 2018. Taking victory in two out of the first six races. Unfortunately, his season turned out to be a disappointment, with mechanical failures leading to eight DNFs. But the Aussie showed us glimpses of his former self in the limited time he got with AlphaTauri in 2023, even out-qualifying Checo in the Mexican Grand Prix to start in the 2nd row alongside Max.

F1 insiders are excited about how the 2024 season will pan out for Ricciardo, who is supposedly at the top of Red Bull’s senior management list as a replacement for Serio Perez. In a recent report by Lawrence Barretto on the official F1 website, he wrote, “That’ll give Red Bull a good kind of headache, as a 2018-spec Ricciardo might be too strong an option to turn down.”

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Does the possibility of Daniel and Max pairing up once again excite you? Share your thoughts down below in the comments.