Max Verstappen says he would be open to partnering Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull Racing next season as speculation over Sergio Pérez’s place at the team continues to simmer.
Pérez has come under increasing pressure since Max Verstappen zeroed in on his third world championship. With the Dutchman having accumulated enough points to secure the constructors title all on his own, focus has turned on Pérez to secure Red Bull Racing’s first one-two finish in the drivers championship.
But the Mexican has struggled to reboot himself after a long slog of poor form in the middle of the season. His performances in Japan and Qatar ranked among his worst of the season, and Lewis Hamilton has since closed to within 20 points of second on the title table.
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Perez did little to help himself at his home grand prix in Mexico City last weekend, crashing out of the race on the first lap in an ambitious but misguided attempt to take the lead at the first corner.
Team boss Christian Horner subsequently said it was his “intention” to retain Pérez for the final campaign of his two-year contract next season, leaving the door wide open for a change of plans.
Verstappen dead-batted questions about whether he had a preference for teammates for 2024, but the Dutchman did little to quash speculation that a change was being considered.
“I always had a great relationship with Daniel when we were teammates [and] when of course we weren’t,” he said. “Also I have a great relationship with Checo.
“They have been great teammates, and it‘s not up to me at the end of the day to make these kinds of decisions, because I’m very focused on my own performance.
“If it‘s Checo next year, then great. I have a great working relationship with him, but also personally I think he’s a great guy.
“And if it‘s Daniel, then also we will get along fine and we have a great time.
“Maybe also nothing happens, right? So we‘ll see.”
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Despite Ricciardo aiming to replace Pérez at the senior team at some stage, the Australian said he hadn’t had any conversations with management about making the jump before their respective contracts expire at the end of next season.
“All the stuff around my contract next year has been related to AlphaTauri,” he said. “That‘s honestly as far as that goes, I think.
“I haven‘t been here long, but for them to be tenth in the constructors and to jump two places in the space of two weekends was huge. That kind of creates a very happy atmosphere around everyone, so I’m kind of happy doing that and trying to just keep charging on where I am.”
Pérez has insisted that he’s been turning a corner with his understanding of the car in the last month, having shown somewhat improved pace in Austin and then qualifying less than 0.2 seconds behind Verstappen in Mexico, albeit with Ricciardo lodged between them.
The six-time race winner said he had moved on from the disappointment of his home race and was hopeful of a clean weekend in Brazil.
“I was sad on Monday for half a day, more or less, and then I put it behind me,” he said. “I’m a sportsman and I know how it goes.
“I just put it behind me and held my head high because I gave my best because I’m proud of that. Now I’m looking forward to the last three races.
“I think the last two races have been really positive. We haven’t managed to really put it together, but we definitely have made a lot of progress, and I’m optimistic for this weekend to final show the pace that we have.”
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