Perez signed: What does this mean for Daniel Ricciardo?

Not worth the risk for Red Bull

Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries ahead of the 2023 British Grand Prix, so Red Bull could see whether the Australian driver is still good enough to compete for the main team, given his poor stint at McLaren that saw the British team terminating his contract to bring in Oscar Piastri. By now in 2024, especially up until the Chinese Grand Prix, that experiment seemed to go downhill, and by then, Ricciardo had to fear more of losing his seat to Liam Lawson.

In 2024, after eight races, the only conclusion Red Bull could come to is that Yuki Tsunoda is more worthy of a promotion than his teammate. The Japanese driver has scored 19 points so far in a season in a car, that especially at the begin of the season was only the sixth best on the grid. Since Australia, Tsunoda was always there to pick the points left behind by the top five teams' drivers, only failed to score points in China, and is even ahead of Lance Stroll in the standings. On the other hand, Stroll did eliminate Ricciardo out of contention once he got the new chassis, and he scored a great fourth position in Miami, but it is clear who is winning the battle of the two.

As a result, Ricciardo is even a bigger risk than a Perez fluctuating in performance, based on that the Mexican earned the contact at the parent team. Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda are contracted to Red Bull Racing and they are loaned to VCARB, and as a result, their performance is constantly monitored.

Can correct his mistakes at VCARB

Ricciardo's name is not one that comes across when one is reading the rumour articles about the potential transfers to Mercedes, Williams, Haas, and now Alpine. It is Christian Horner calling the shots and not VCARB's Peter Bayer, but the narrative is still in favour of Ricciardo. The CEO of the Faenza-based team also said ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix that they would like to retain Ricciardo for next season. "I think we're very happy with both of our drivers. (...) We have a very strong line-up."

Those responses are also similar to how Horner praised Perez ahead of him getting this new contract. For Horner it is also benefitial to keep Ricciardo close, as it is well-known they are on good terms. It is sensible also for Ricciardo to stay in an environment that supports him, and with Tsunoda rumoured to leave, he can be a senior driver with a possible seat ready to be open for a young talent next to him.