02 November 2023 , 16:59
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Max Verstappen hinted that Daniel Ricciardo may have a chance of replacing Sergio Perez for next season.
The Dutchman has completely blown his current team-mate away this season. He secured the drivers' title weeks ago, while Perez has less than half his points total and is in a close fight with Lewis Hamilton for second place in the championship.
Perez has a contract for 2024 and Red Bull have consistently backed their driver to rediscover his best form. But that hasn't stopped speculation that Ricciardo is being primed to replace him.
And the noise around that particular rumour only increased after last weekend's Mexican Grand Prix. Perez crashed out of his home race at the first corner, while the Aussie finished seventh – after out-qualifying his rival for that Red Bull seat in the slower sister AlphaTauri car.
Questioned about his team-mate situation for next year, Verstappen aimed to make it clear that he will be happy to continue working with Perez. But his words suggested that there is indeed a chance the Mexican might not still be a Red Bull racer in 2024.
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"If it's Checo next year, we have a good working relationship," he said, raising eyebrows with his lack of certainty over the matter. "If it is Daniel, we'll have fun. F1 is a tough sport."
He went on to dodge a question over who he would choose to race alongside next year. "I find it a bit unfair to sit here and say who I would prefer," he replied when asked if he would welcome Ricciardo back to the team with open arms.
Ricciardo has made it clear he hopes to reclaim the seat he vacated five years ago. But, in an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport, the 34-year-old insisted he will be content if a Red Bull return is not on the cars in these final years of his F1 career.
He said: "The big picture would be to get back to that team and that car one day, but I also said that if there is not an opening then I want to stay here. The team is going through a rebuild for next year and if I can contribute and get this team more towards the front and to be taken more seriously, that's it. If it's not the big team, it's here.
"What they've said to me is to make the most out of this opportunity. Yuki [Tsunoda, his AlphaTauri team-mate] has been performing really well this year, he's a good gauge and a good benchmark for me. I need to try to perform well within the team and try to get some points, and then take it from there."