"Riccardo is not better than Perez" - Fans react to reports of Daniel Ricciardo possibly replacing Sergio Perez next season at Red Bull

According to recent reports, Daniel Ricciardo might take Sergio Perez's seat early in the 2024 F1 season if the latter is unable to improve. There are also rumors that Ricciardo's pay will be tripled and that Red Bull's backup driver, Liam Lawson, may take Ricciardo's seat in AlphaTauri.

Renowned F1 reporter Joe Saward claimed this knowledge in his recent WordPress post. He said that he had learned from sources that, should Checo perform poorly in the first few races, a clause in Ricciardo's contract permits him to transfer to Red Bull.

"Informed sources suggest that there is a provision in Ricciardo’s contract for him to switch into Red Bull Racing after the early races next year if Sergio Perez does not up his game. I hear that if that happens Daniel’s salary will triple and Liam Lawson will come in to replace him," mentioned Saward.

As soon as this report surfaced on X (formerly Twitter), several F1 fans reacted to the news. While some claimed that Daniel Ricciardo is no better than Sergio Perez, others were simply focused on how Liam Lawson could have permanent entry to Formula 1.

"Why? Riccardo is not better than Perez," wrote one fan.

Here are some of the reactions to the rumor:

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Red Bull team boss happy with Sergio Perez's overall performance in 2023 F1 season

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently praised Sergio Perez for his performance in the 2023 F1 season. Despite him being miles behind his teammate, Max Verstappen, Horner feels that Checo has done his part in securing second place in the drivers' championship.

“It’s something as a team we’ve never achieved before,” Horner was quoted as saying by formula1.com. “I mean, what more can you ask for from your drivers than first and second in the championship And [Perez’s] form, his pace was right there again today. The last two, three races, he’s really been finding his form again.”

Later on, he spoke about the Mexican's performance in the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP and how unlucky he was to secure second place in the race.

“So unlucky to lose out on second place but nailing second place in the championship as well. It’s been an amazing season for us and today sort of summed up the kind of year that we’ve been having.”

Even though Perez was far behind Verstappen, who won the world championship with 575 points, he managed to finish second in the drivers' championship with 285 points.