- Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirms grim news for Aussie
- The Mexican Sergio Perez will be number 2 next to Max Verstappen
- Ricciardo has impressed this F1 season driving for AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo has been given a shock in his bold bid to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has stated that the Mexican will race alongside Max Verstappen as their number two driver.
“I am absolutely confident that Checo (Perez) will be our driver next year,” Horner told motorsport.com.
“If he was injured or anything like that, these are circumstances beyond our control. But the clear plan and therefore the clear intention is that he continues with us.
‘We have announced the AlphaTauri drivers, we have our Red Bull Racing drivers.
“This is how we want to race in 2024.”
Daniel Ricciardo has been given a shock in his bid to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has stated that the Mexican (pictured) will race alongside Max Verstappen as their number two driver in 2024
Horner also called the constant driver speculation at Red Bull ‘noise on the outside’
Perez is currently second in the F1 driver standings with 258 points, behind Red Bull teammate and reigning champion Verstappen.
The Dutch driver has 524 points and recently won his third world title in a row.
Horner also referred to rumors that Ricciardo will replace Perez at Red Bull as mere ‘outside noise’.
‘Sergio does thick skin…many times he has picked himself up, brushed himself and got back up again,” he said. “So hopefully he’ll do the same now.”
It comes as Ricciardo has impressed at AlphaTauri after being called up as Nyck de Vries’ replacement earlier this season.
Verstappen also recently said he was open to a reunion with Ricciardo.
“It’s not up to me to make these kinds of decisions because I’m focused on my own performance,” he said.
“So if it’s Checo (Perez) next year, that’s great. I’ve had a great working relationship with him, but I also think he’s a great guy personally.
“And if it’s Daniel…we get along great and have a great time together.”