Marko already issues warning to Ricciardo and Perez
- Jeroen Immink
Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed that Sergio Perez (Red Bull) and Daniel Ricciardo (VCARB) will be allowed to stay within the Red Bull family for the time being. The Austrian revealed this to F1 Insider. The future of both drivers has been under discussion but they will both be given another chance to redeem themselves this season.
Marko warns: 'Cards of 2025 will be reshuffled'
At the start of the season, Perez seemed fine as second fiddle behind Max Verstappen. With four podiums in the first five races, there seemed little to worry about for the Mexican. But with the huge competition from McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, the man from Guadalajara continued to slip, resulting in poor qualifying and multiple crashes. Still, Red Bull has chosen to stick with the Mexican. "Perez is staying. We want to get him back to his old form," Marko revealed.
Ricciardo is also yet to show his worth. After being forced to leave McLaren in 2022, he returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver and was allowed to replace Nyck de Vries midway through the 2023 season at AlphaTauri (now VCARB). But strong performances failed to materialise. Nevertheless, Ricciardo will also get another chance. "Ricciardo is staying too, nothing will change. The cards will be reshuffled for 2025," Marko confirmed.
This article was written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.