Max Verstappen could reportedly have new teammate for 2023 season after talks with F1 driver revealed

Red Bull Racing are reportedly considering all available options for their second driver to partner Max Verstappen for the 2023 season. The Milton Keynes outfit could potentially replace Sergio Perez with another driver after the Mexican's contract expires at the end of next season.

The new developments come courtesy of Pierre Gasly, who formerly drove for Red Bull and is currently with their sister team Scuderia Alpha Tauri. In an interview with Express UK, the Frenchman said:

"First of all, obviously, my priority is with Red Bull, but at the moment they've decided to continue with Sergio. I don't know what they're going to plan.”

“I'm 25, but my goal is to be in the first seat once these guys are going to look at who can be a replacement. It's important for me to show that if there is a free seat, I should be the obvious choice.”

“They're saying that probably 2023 there could be an option. I'll try to put myself in the best position for that, but it's a discussion that we know we're going to have next year with Red Bull. We'll have to see what the view of Red Bull is over the next two years, because now it's been eight years that I've been with them. It's a long time.”

In 2017, Gasly was promoted to Red Bull from Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri) to replace the then Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo. However, the first half of the season was a disaster for the Frenchman – he failed to match Max Verstappen’s pace and lacked confidence with the car. By mid-season, he was demoted back to Toro Rosso, with Alexander Albon moved replacing him.

While Albon was better than Gasly when it came race pace, he still struggled to match Max Verstappen in qualifying. He was retained for 2020 but having failed to show much improvement, Red Bull decided to demote him to a reserve and simulator role. Sergio Perez, who had just lost his seat at Aston Martin, was brought onboard for 2021.

Throughout the season, Perez generally performed at a higher level than both Gasly and Albon had done. However, he also faced some of the same issues as his predecessors and struggled to extract optimum qualifying performances. This meant that his races were often compromised from the get-go and might have potentially cost Red Bull the constructors' championship.

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Max Verstappen believes Silverstone crash prevented him from sealing up title sooner

Max Verstappen believes that he would have wrapped up the drivers’ championship far earlier in the season if not for his crash at Silverstone after tangling with Lewis Hamilton.

In an interview with GPFans, Horner said:

“[Max Verstappen] headbutting the tire wall in Silverstone wasn't that great. These were key moments, otherwise it would have been decided a lot earlier. Especially towards the end of the season, getting a few wins where we didn't expect it, or a pole position, or even the fastest lap for an extra point. These things actually do matter nowadays when you have a championship fight as we had."

Max Verstappen came together with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix while aggressively defending the lead against the Mercedes driver. The massive 51G crash severely damaged the Dutchman's Red Bull and took him out of the race.

Meanwhile, Hamilton, nursing a damaged car, managed to overtake runaway leader Charles Leclerc in the final few laps to seal his first victory after five races, closing his gap to Max Verstappen in the championship.