The Red Bull second seat was in contention much before Lewis Hamilton force started the 2025 silly season. The desire to drive for the reigning world champions is high in almost every single driver on the grid because the man currently occupying the seat is likely getting the axe. We are talking about Sergio Perez and how, because of his own doing, his future at Red Bull has become a big question mark. However, according to Dutch racers Jeroen Bleekemolen and Robin Frijns, things look certain and in favor of Daniel Ricciardo.

Perez dug his own grave with his performances in the 2023 season. The Mexican failed to qualify for Q3 in five consecutive races despite driving the fastest car on the grid. The Red Bull bosses did not replace him mid-season but put his potential replacement in the sister team. Now heading toward the 2024 season, Ricciardo’s performance at Visa Cash App RB would play a major role in his call-up to Red Bull.

This is the general understanding as Perez will also get the opportunity to prove his worth in the upcoming season. However, the Dutch racers, especially Frijns, as quoted by formule1.nl, the Mexican’s time is already over. He not only believes Perez will not be driving for Red Bull in the future but if he doesn’t perform up to the mark, Red Bull will switch him with Ricciardo in the summer as they already desperately want him.

“I don’t expect Pérez to survive until the end of this year,” Frijns says. He further added, “Red Bull ‘would love to have Daniel Ricciardo back'”, and if Pérez messes up, “we will see a switch in the summer.” (Translated via Google)

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For these two Dutchmen, the future of Red Bull’s second seat is set in the hands of Daniel Ricciardo. However, there is another Dutchman who does not agree with this assessment.

Daniel Ricciardo pushed aside in comparison to Sergio Perez by Dutch former engineer

Former Bridgestone senior engineer at Ferrari, Kees van de Grint is a man who strongly opposes the aforementioned opinion. The Dutchman does not believe Ricciardo is head and shoulders above Perez. Not in terms of pace and talent. He believes Ricciardo is just better placed and well-connected with the Red Bull hierarchy, which is the only reason why he’s in consideration for the second seat.

“Ricciardo is well placed with the top people at Red Bull. I understand that you have a man with experience. Let me rephrase: he is a man with talent and experience. However, I find myself asking, where is the talent pool? You have to look into the talent pool (for the future). You often hear that he should be Max Verstappen’s new teammate. I don’t believe he is better than Perez. When the two were teammates earlier, Verstappen was still a rookie and a newcomer. Still, Verstappen was better.” Kees van de Grint stated.

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“Ricciardo is a good driver, but he’s not the man for me. He’s not the superstar. He is a very nice guy, but those are two different things,” he concluded.

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Two polar opposite opinions on the Australian’s abilities. However, such is the nature of F1, there are always divided opinions, and comparisons are made on past performances rather than current standards because for that everyone would need to be in equal machinery. An ideal but impossible scenario.