Marko admits: “The plan was Ricciardo in Red Bull, but….”

Perez is a case, but he was reconfirmed

The confirmation of Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen after this first half of the season surprised everyone. The Mexican driver after starting 2024 well in the last eight races has never gone beyond seventh place at the finish line, even at Spa in Belgium where he started from the front row (and in reality without Russell’s disqualification he would have finished in eighth position).

Perez got a two-year extension, but the performance clause stating that he must not be more than 100 points behind Verstappen in the championship gave – and still gives – Red Bull the option to replace the Mexican with another driver. Horner and Marko have opted for confirmationand pressure from Liberty Media to safeguard box office receipts in Mexico City was not a factor, as the Austrian pointed out.

Marko explained that the plan was to eventually aim at Daniel Ricciardobut the Australian did not meet the requirements: “The idea was to bring Ricciardo back to Red Bull if he proved to be significantly faster than Yuki Tsunoda in Racing Bulls – Marko explained as reported by ESPN – but Daniel has had his ups and downs and so far hasn’t met the criteria to be a Red Bull driver again. Perez? We need to make the car easier to drive, the more difficult it is the more the difference between Verstappen and Perez emerges. When the rear starts to wobble Max calls the car ‘nervous’, for Perez it’s ‘undriveable’”.