Christian Horner backs Daniel Ricciardo to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull: Reports

Recent reports claim that Christian Horner is favoring Daniel Ricciardo as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez in Red Bull. This rumor emerged amid Checo's potential exit from the Austrian team due to his recent subpar performances.

According to "Motorsport.com", Christian Horner believes that out of all the candidates who could replace Checo, Daniel Ricciardo is the correct choice.

Checo had a strong start to the 2024 F1 season. He kept up with Verstappen in the drivers' standings and bagged podiums in the first few races. After the Miami GP, however, his performance plummeted and he tumbled down the championship table. He has not been able to bag a single podium finish since May 2024 and is currently seventh in the table with only 124 points, while Verstappen continues to lead with 265 points.

This slump in performance reignited rumors of him being removed from Red Bull. Several reports claimed that the defending world champions could replace the Mexican during the summer break after the Belgian GP. Red Bull has no shortage of drivers who could replace Sergio Perez. They have Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and even Liam Lawson ready on the sidelines.

After Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018, he reconnected with the team in 2022 following his departure from McLaren. The Australian worked with the Austrian giants as a simulator driver and hoped for an opportunity to return to the grid with them. He soon replaced a struggling Nyck de Vries in Red Bull's B team, AlphaTauri (now RB).

Even though Daniel Ricciardo is currently struggling to keep up with his RB teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, "Motorsport.com" reports that Horner feels the Australian is the right man to replace Sergio Perez.

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Daniel Ricciardo ready to perform in the last two races before summer break amid Sergio Perez's Red Bull exit rumors

Daniel Ricciardo said that the Hungarian and Belgian GPs would be two of the most important races of his entire career. This statement was made amid rumors about Sergio Perez's potential exit from Red Bull during summer break. Since Ricciardo is one of the top candidates who could potentially replace Perez, the Australian knows he needs to perform at his best to show the Austrian team that he is worthy of the seat.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, he explained how important the Hungarian and Belgian GP were to him. He added that he intentionally told himself how important these two races were to him.

“I’ve told myself if I can do it, go fast. You’ve got two races to give it hell. These two races could be two of the most important of my, not only season, but potentially career. I intentionally came into the weekend telling myself that these two races could be two of the most important,” Ricciardo said.

At the Hungarian GP, Daniel Ricciardo finished out of points in P12, while Sergio Perez had a good recovery race and secured P7.