Sergio Perez has been warned that his seat at Red Bull for 2024 isn’t guaranteed, despite the fact he’s contracted to the Austrians until the end of next season.
Perez’s seat at Red Bull has been a huge talking point in recent weeks, following a poor run of form for the Mexican and the shock return of Daniel Ricciardo.
Red Bull have loaned their development driver to AlphaTauri for the remainder of 2023, following the sacking of Nyck de Vries.
Ricciardo has therefore been back in the cockpit since the Hungarian Grand Prix, with him having immediately shown strong pace in Hungary and Belgium.
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Somewhat concerningly for Perez, Ricciardo has stressed that his goal is to race for Red Bull again, something that team boss Christian Horner has recognised.
Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel thinks Perez needs to be keeping an eye on Ricciardo despite having a deal for 2024, with Coronel believing that Ricciardo could replace Checo as soon as 2024.
Coronel also thinks F1 contracts are like “toilet paper” and can be ripped up at any moment, something Red Bull have done countless times before.
The Dutch driver believes Perez’s consistency isn’t good enough for Red Bull, whereas Ricciardo is viewed as Max Verstappen’s “best team-mate ever”.
“In the whole of Formula 1, a contract is toilet paper,” Coronel told RacingNews365.com.
“The most money is made the moment contracts are dissolved, you’ve seen that before with drivers. ‘Shall we say goodbye now? Okay, so then it will cost 20 million extra’, on top of it. But then you can move on.
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“We all know what will happen to Perez. Come on, we know that!
“It’s very clear. Helmut Marko [Red Bull driver programme boss] is just looking for a very strong second driver. Verstappen’s best team-mate ever? That was Ricciardo. So yes, you know, then I see it anyway: that’s what they are looking for. Perez just doesn’t have the consistency. A sub-topper, nothing wrong with that.
“But you are looking for a Ricciardo, who then beat Sebastian Vettel. Is this going to be the new World Champion? Well, with Max next to you you can forget about that, but one thing is for sure: at Red Bull you need a driver who will be at least second or third and that’s where I think Perez is still too often overshooting himself, let’s put it nicely…”