It’s safe to say that the F1 community want Sergio Pérez to continue with Red Bull for the entirety of his contract, following the result of a three-day Twitter poll conducted by Formula1News.co.uk.
With the Mexican currently in the middle of a difficult period with Red Bull, the question was asked whether the Austrians should replace the Mexican driver with Daniel Ricciardo, who will depart McLaren at the end of the season.
Whilst Ricciardo has had a disastrous spell with the Woking-based side, having claimed just 17 points finishes from 38 starts for the British side, he is still regarded by many in the paddock as one of the best drivers on the current grid.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner remains a very big fan of the 33-year-old, and recently admitted that he believes Alpine need to sign the former Red Bull driver for 2023.
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Ricciardo’s peak of his F1 career was, of course, his five-year spell with the current Constructors’ Leaders, where he not only took the fight to four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, but also fought Max Verstappen impeccably.
Whilst Verstappen did end up getting the better of him and the team’s full support, the Australian would most likely jump at the opportunity to return to the Austrians, where he could attempt to add to his eight F1 victories.
During his spell at Red Bull, Ricciardo claimed 31 podiums, with 10 of those having come in his first couple of seasons.
Comparing this to Pérez, the 32-year-old actually comes out on top with 12 podiums so far in his first two-years at Red Bull.
The Mexican’s total could arguably be even higher; however, some poor qualifying results and grid penalties have seen further rostrums slip from his grasp.
Despite having claimed more podiums than Ricciardo in his first two seasons, Pérez has recently come under fire for underperforming.
Pérez has claimed just one podium in the last six races, whereas Verstappen has claimed six podiums in the last six, with five of those being consecutive victories.
Apart from the opening phase of the season, Pérez hasn’t been able to compete with the imperious Dutchman, who can wrap up his second Drivers’ Championship at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Whilst it could be deemed that this makes Checo the perfect number two, given the fact he hasn’t battled Verstappen for victory that often, he has languished towards the Mercedes and the Ferrari drivers in the Drivers’ Championship.
Pérez currently sits third but could easily slip to sixth, with only 51 points separating second to sixth.
Despite his difficult period, fans are certain he should be retained by Red Bull for the rest of his current deal, instead of replacing him with the former Red Bull driver.
After 1,222 votes, 74.4 percent believed Pérez shouldn’t be replaced by Ricciardo, with only 25.6 percent believing he should.
Whilst the results are comprehensive, the comments were somewhat ‘colourful’.
Pérez fans made their feelings known using a range of unacceptable language, similar language which both Verstappen and Sir Lewis Hamilton fans have been condemned for in the last couple of years.
It’s further proof of the current issues facing the F1 community, with a simple silly season vote having caused such outrage amongst the Red Bull driver’s following.
There were; however, some interesting responses with valid points.
“Perez is exactly where Red Bull wants him, they and honestly most teams, don’t want two drivers fighting each other. They want a number 1 and number 2. If Perez can keep up for the last few races and finish 2nd or 3rd, he should be fine,” said one user.
Another believed that Ricciardo’s F1 career is finished, something which is a real possibility given his current situation.
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“Ricciardo is finished, lucky if he gets a seat on a midfield team in a mediocre racing category,” said another.
The McLaren driver is currently deciding between taking a one-year hiatus with the view to returning in 2024 or pursuing a possible seat at Haas.
The Aussie did explain in a recent interview that he does want to race next year, so perhaps we will see some progress on talks with the Americans soon.