Max Verstappen forced to pick between Ricciardo and Perez in Red Bull dilemma
Max Verstappen was asked whether he would prefer to drive alongside Daniel Ricciardo or current team-mate Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season. He suggested that he would be happy to partner either man, insisting he has a strong relationship with both.
The topic of Verstappen’s 2024 team-mate has been a regular talking point throughout the season with Perez failing to impress Red Bull bosses, despite taking wins at the Dutchman’s expense in two of the opening four races of the season.
In the RB19, Verstappen and Perez have been blessed with one of the most dominant cars in the history of F1, but the Mexican driver is still at risk of throwing away Red Bull’s first-ever one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship.
With Checo sitting an unprecedented 251 points behind his team-mate heading into the final three races of the season and Ricciardo dragging AlphaTauri from tenth in the standings to eight with his immense showing in Mexico, the question of the former’s immediate future has resurfaced.
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Asked which driver he’d prefer to race with at Red Bull next season, Verstappen said: “I always had a great relationship with Daniel when we were team-mates – and when, of course, we weren’t. At the same time also I have a great relationship with Checo, so I find it a bit unfair to now sit here and say who I would prefer as a team-mate or whatever.
“They have been great teammates and it’s not up to me at the end of the day to make these kinds of decisions. So, if it’s Checo next year, then great. I have had a great working relationship with him, and also personally, I think he’s a great guy. And if it’s Daniel, then also we will get along fine and we’ll have a great time.”
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Ricciardo piled the pressure onto Checo with his display at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last time out, qualifying fourth on the grid – which was ahead of the home hero, who started in fifth – before converting that into a P7 finish on race day.
The Aussie’s heroics in Mexico City lifted AlphaTauri above Haas and Alfa Romeo in the Constructor Championship standings and earned the 34-year-old plenty of plaudits on a weekend that offered nothing but heartbreak for Checo. Red Bull’s number two driver crashed out on the opening lap of his home race after contact with Charles Leclerc.
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