F1 | Red Bull, Marko: “Ricciardo instead of Perez? We’ll see after the summer break.”

Helmut Marko talks about Daniel Ricciardo’s possible return to Red Bull if Sergio Perez’s performances don’t improve.

Helmut Marko exposes himself to the press regarding the possible return of Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen if Sergio Perez’s performances are not up to par.

Marko offers a chance for Ricciardo to replace Perez
The drop in performance recorded this year by Sergio Perez , current team campaign of three-time champion Max Verstappen, has recently made Helmut Marko discuss the team’s future decisions regarding the possible change of drivers in 2025 which would go in favor of the Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo , currently linked to the Faenza team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls . Driver number #3 started the season with less than optimal form compared to what he had shown during the off-season phase during some tests but now he seems to have slowly paved the way to return to being competitive against his teammate Yuki Tsunoda and with rest of the drivers on the grid.

Marko Ricciardo Perez
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Even if the relationship between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko deteriorated during the start of the season, according to the newspaper Auto Motor und Sport, Ricciardo’s positive trend would have brought the Team Principal and Helmut Marko to an agreement to evaluate the replacement with the driver number #11 , thus opening a scenario where the Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda would be joined by the rookie Liam Lawson, still fresh after last year’s experience in which he finished in the points in the Japanese GP aboard the AlphaTauri AT04.

Ricciardo in Red Bull while Perez?
The driver market is becoming more and more complicated given that, at the moment, Carlos Sainz is the driver with the most offers who needs an almost immediate response. It seems that the Spaniard’s long wait is dictated by the release clause which would see the possibility of negotiating a “good exit” in the event that Sergio Perez’s seat in Red Bull becomes available. From the outside, the situation that broke out at the beginning of the year regarding the scandal involving Christian Horner seems to be under control and the possibility of seeing Max Verstappen in another team next year now seems remote, so Sainz is still looking for one last chance in a top team.

Marko Ricciardo Perez
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
In the event that Perez were replaced by Ricciardo, the Mexican would become an equally valid contender for a seat among those proposed to Sainz himself: Audi, Alpine and Williams remain awaiting an immediate response from the Madrilenian who does not want to risk tying himself to a team not very competitive for the future of the regulation change but he will not be able to wait much longer to choose the team he will wear in 2025.