Daniel Ricciardo opens up about his relationship with Sergio Perez as a potential move to replace him at Red Bull looms large

Daniel Ricciardo mentioned that he has always got on well with Sergio Perez. This comes amidst reports that he is eyeing the Mexican's Red Bull seat for the 2024 season.

Although the Aussie driver is currently recovering from a hand injury he sustained at the 2023 F1 Dutch GP, he is still in contention to replace Sergio Perez for the next season. After the race in Monza, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko hinted that the Mexican driver's focus might be shifting with the arrival of his fourth child.

Speaking with Servus TV, Marko said:

“Perez is not consistent; he is not always focused. Sergio is already over 30 and is expecting his fourth child. So he also has other interests, so you have to see what happens next.”

While appearing on the Talking Bulls Podcast, Daniel Ricciardo commented on the possibility of replacing Sergio Perez, saying:

“We both joined F1 in 2011, so we’ve had a very similar length in career and it’s been cool, equally I’ve done a helmet swap with Checo so I’ve always got on well with him."

“Before Checo got the Red Bull seat, there were question marks like ‘Is he going to be on the grid that year?’ I wouldn’t go as far as saying like he resurrected his career, but to come back in a big way, I think it’s a cool story."

Daniel Ricciardo on the doubts he faced the first day back at Red Bull

The Aussie driver stated that there was a lot of self-doubt while going into the first day of simulator work back at the Red Bull factory earlier this season.

Daniel Ricciardo accepted that he had lost something internally performance-wise and had to gain it back quickly. He said:

"Obviously, getting back in, people were aware and then I became aware of: 'Oh yeah, I had lost a little bit of something internally.' The first day, I was still unsure and probably still [had] some habits maybe from the past year that was still there, so it took me a little bit of time to kind of start fresh."

Daniel Ricciardo was able to get back to his natural style that brought him so much success with the team previously.

But his injury has put him back a little bit, so it will be interesting to see if he has a similar level of performance when he returns to the track to make his bid for the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.