Christian Horner ‘dreams’ of signing 10-time driver of the day to replace Sergio Perez

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Christian Horner and the rest of the Red Bull leadership are deciding whether to replace Sergio Perez. The Mexican may have just two races to save his seat.

Remarkably, it was only in the first week of June that Perez signed a new two-year deal. But Horner and co. have become increasingly concerned by his ongoing struggles.

Red Bull were at least prepared for this eventuality. They negotiated break clauses into the contract, even if they perhaps didn’t expect them to become relevant until 2025.

If Perez remains more than 100 points behind Verstappen by the summer break, the team are reportedly able to let him go. Given that the gap is currently 137, that’s looking like an inevitability.

This is the largest gap between teammates after 12 races since F1 adopted its new points system in 2010. Fernando Alonso previously held the record, having led Ferrari partner Felipe Massa by 129 at this stage of the 2012 season.

Since coming home fourth at the Miami GP at the start of May, Perez hasn’t finished a race higher than seventh. He’s also failed to score points three times, most recently at Silverstone when he crossed the line 17th.

Christian Horner would ideally love Daniel Ricciardo to take Sergio Perez seat

According to journalist Michael Schmidt, speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast, Horner’s ‘dream’ would be to axe Perez and promote Daniel Ricciardo back to the team. He regards the Australian as his ‘protege’.

Ricciardo first joined Red Bull in 2014, succeeding his compatriot Mark Webber after impressing at Toro Rosso. He spent five seasons at Milton Keynes before a shock move to Renault.

On paper, he boasts an impressive track record with eight wins, three poles, 32 podiums and 10 driver of the day awards. But he’s struggled to find consistency at RB, having returned to the junior team six months after losing his McLaren seat.

That’s why Horner won’t be able to re-hire him alongside Verstappen. Ricciardo started 2024 as a contender to replace Perez but things haven’t gone as planned.

“Christian Horner naturally dreams of getting his protege Ricciardo in there,” Schmidt said. “But Ricciardo drives similarly with similar problems. He has a pretty decent race now and then, like in Austria, Montreal and Miami. But three races out of 12 where he was good in his not enough.”

Ricciardo could lose seat as all-new RB line-up possible

For Ricciardo, the bigger concern must be keeping his spot on the grid altogether. There’s a risk that he loses his RB drive, and interest from other teams is limited.

Williams have held talks with Ricciardo, but team boss James Vowles is more likely to sign Valtteri Bottas. Haas would be reluctant to pay his salary and seem set to recruit Esteban Ocon alongside Oliver Bearman instead.

Schmidt has predicted that RB will hire Liam Lawson and F2 leader Iscak Hadjar for 2025, with Yuki Tsunoda stepping up to Red Bull. This would see the team embrace youth once again.

Giedo van der Garde has urged Ricciardo to leave F1 voluntarily at the end of the year and instead tackle another series. He’s now completed more than 250 Grands Prix and no longer seems to have any upward mobility in the sport.