Daniel Ricciardo wouldn’t be able to challenge Sergio Perez in a battle for the No. 2 seat at Red Bull, Formula 1 personality Eddie Jordan says.
Ricciardo’s potential return to the F1 grid this year has returned to the headlines this week after rumours of drama at Alpha Tauri.
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The more optimistic speculation of Ricciardo potentially replacing Perez to partner Max Verstappen has disappeared in recent weeks as the Mexican driver continues to go toe-to-toe with his world champion teammate.
Perez is just 14 points behind Verstappen in the championship standings.
Tensions between the pair reached ugly heights towards the end of the 2022 and Ricciardo’s return to Red Bull as the team’s part-time development driver opened the door for the potential departure of Perez.
That suddenly seems a long time ago with Perez proving Red Bull would be nuts to let him leave — even if there remains tension between the different sides of the Red Bull garage.
“I’ve gone through this on a number of occasions and I actually think, you know, Daniel Ricciardo is there, but there’s no way Daniel is going to do the job that Checo is doing, in my opinion,” Jordan said on the Formula For Success podcast.
“Having seen what Daniel has done, and as much as we like the guy, he’s just a fabulous person to be around, but Checo is doing a magic job.”
Former world champion Damian Coulthard agreed it will take a “superhuman” effort for any of the emerging, younger stars on the grid to challenge Verstappen.
“We have a generation of drivers in their mid-20s that for the next decade are going to be trying to fight it out, and basically any one of those guys who get their hands on a race-winning car have a chance to challenge Max,” Coulthard said.
“Challenging Max in the same team is going to take a superhuman effort, because Max is just a machine, isn’t he?
“He’s been groomed, in the nicest way of that expression, in terms of being on a racetrack from an early age. Both parents have been racers and he’s assertive, strong willed and more than capable.”
Ricciardo recently said he will step into the RB19 for the first time in July in a development some have interpreted to be a sign the Aussie wants to drive for the team next year, despite there appearing to be no available seats.
There is more likely to be an available seat at Red Bull’s junior team, AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo has been linked to a mid-season return to AlphaTauri in the place of struggling rookie Nyck de Vries.
According to reports in the Italian media, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has handed De Vries an ultimatum to pick up the pace by June or face the axe.
Ricciardo, as the third driver for both Red Bull Racing and the sister AlphaTauri team, would be in line to step in.
The Australian has already had a seat fitting for AlphaTauri, though that isn’t considered a sign of an imminent switch.
Instead the timing of the fitting is likely because fellow Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson is set to miss two upcoming grands prix owing to Super Formula commitments.
But it comes after a disappointing start to life as a full-time Formula 1 driver for De Vries.
The Dutchman landed his AlphaTauri contract thanks to his 2021–22 Formula E championship and an impressive one-off appearance for Williams at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, at which he scored points with a ninth-place finish.