Harry Sandover
3 Aug 2023
Can the Mexican Minister of Defence keep is seat with RedBull?
Sergio Perez has had an interesting season this year. With multiple podiums and miserable qualifying results, his season has been nothing short of mixed. One thing that has the media questions about him though is his seat at RedBull for 2025.
To start, Sergio is a very reputable driver. He started his career with Sauber (now Alfa Romeo) and McLaren. He has racked up a total of 6 wins and 33 podiums over his lifetime in Formula One, but he is not adding to those figures despite being in the fastest car on the grid. He has consistently been eliminated in qualifying in Q1 and Q2 for at least the last 5 races or more, and whilst it looks good that he is making moves up the grid come race day on Sunday, he should never be making those moves in the first place, when he is behind the wheel of such a rocket ship.
He is being constantly outperformed by his teammate, the 2-time champion, Max Verstappen in (hopefully) equal machinery. Verstappen is arguably, and statistically the better driver but in a sport such as Formula One, and with a reputation such as Perez’s, the performance difference between the two RedBull drivers should not be this great.
ESPN have said that their sources believe it is unlikely that Perez will be replaced during the 2023 season, and also unlikely to be replaced next year in 2024.
RedBull’s team principal, Christian Horner, has stated that Ricciardo is sizing up the now open seat for 2025. Ricciardo said himself, “it would be a fairy-tail ending,” when being asked about driving for RedBull in 2025 for the tail end of his career.
After all this however there are some questions raised. Can Perez lift his game to keep the seat well and truly away from the Honey Badger? And can Ricciardo claim the seat for 2025, and a possible drivers title before retirement? We shall have to see.
Sources and references –
- ESPN. “Horner: Ricciardo’s Goal Is 2025 Red Bull Seat.” ESPN.com, 18 July 2023, www.espn.com.au/f1/story/_/id/38028601/daniel-ricciardo-objective-2025-red-bull-seat-says-christian-horner. Accessed 3 Aug. 2023.
- Foster, Michelle. “Sergio Perez Responds to Reports Daniel Ricciardo Is Coming for His Red Bull Seat.” PlanetF1, 21 July 2023, www.planetf1.com/news/sergio-perez-daniel-ricciardo-wants-red-bull-seat/. Accessed 3 Aug. 2023.
- Reuters. “F1: Sergio Perez’s Seat with Red Bull Safe for Now, Says Jenson Button.” INQUIRER.net, 21 June 2023, sports.inquirer.net/515330/f1-sergio-perezs-seat-with-red-bull-safe-for-now-says-jenson-button. Accessed 3 Aug. 2023.