Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko appears to have backpedalled on his previous statements about Sergio Perez, explaining that “nothing is 100% certain” for 2024. These comments arrive amidst Daniel Ricciardo’s return to F1 with AlphaTauri.
It is no secret that Perez is struggling this season, with his qualifying record and points deficit to teammate Max Verstappen being the most obvious examples of this.
What is also well-established is the ruthlessness of Red Bull with the management of their drivers, evidenced most recently by the dismissal of Nyck de Vries for Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s comeback is evidently an attempt to return to the front – where he believes he belongs. The Australian has expressed his explicit intent to fight for victories since the confirmation of his McLaren departure.
Christian Horner remains diplomatic about Perez’s future, insisting that a contract for 2024 guarantees his continuation. Up until recently, Helmut Marko was consistent with this rhetoric.
However, in Marko’s typical brutally honest fashion, the Austrian refused to take anything off the table:
“Nothing is 100% certain in Formula 1. It just doesn’t exist,” he told kleinezeitung.at.
“There are always performance-related situations somewhere that need to be discussed.
“We’ll take a look and discuss how to proceed in Zandvoort, then, we’ll know more.”
The relationship between Helmut Marko and Daniel Ricciardo is quite positive – as explained by the 80-year-old:
“He has a very positive personality, a successful career and incredible experience.
“His momentum and vigour caused a real jolt at AlphaTauri. That was a real boost of motivation.”
Ricciardo was certainly impressive at the Hungarian GP, although Yuki Tsunoda reminded the field in Belgium that he is not to be written off.
Regardless of the most recent form at AlphaTauri, it seems clear that Red Bull – as ever – are a team worth following in regards to their driver lineup.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
