Marketing value Ricciardo not necessarily an asset? '65% going to Mexico'

Perez's situation at Red Bull

Perez occasionally underperforms and has had a poor run since the 2023 Miami GP. Where the Mexican Red Bull driver was still considering title chances at the beginning of the season, he now has to really acknowledge the superiority of Max Verstappen. In Hungary and Belgium, Perez seems to be on the way back somewhat.

Although his seat is under a lot of pressure, Perez seems to be able to save himself by finishing behind Verstappen on P2 every race. In doing so, he does not get in his teammate's way and scores maximum points for his team. Since the sudden dismissal of Nyck de Vries and the re-entry of Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, there has been cause for concern for Perez. Ricciardo will be fiercely focused on the Mexican's seat.

Perez and Ricciardo also a battle for marketing value?

The rest of 2023 will possibly serve as a probationary period for both drivers to prove they are worthy of the seat next to Verstappen at Red Bull. In this battle that has mostly taken shape in recent months among F1 fans and in the media, Ricciardo's marketing value is also often cited as an asset for the Australian to join Red Bull. Ricciardo is a popular driver and at the end of the day, Red Bull is all about selling energy drinks.

Sky Sports' David Croft says that Perez's marketing value should not be underestimated either. Indeed, at Sky Sports F1, the analyst argues that it is precisely his marketing value that is a major reason Perez still has his seat. Croft: "Checo is good for selling a lot of cans of Red Bull, both in North America and Latin America. He brings a lot of sponsorship money to the team and that is important, even at this time in F1 with a budget cap. Almost 65% of all online Red Bull F1 merchandise is sold to Mexico."