Sergio Perez “It doesn’t matter if there is Ricardo in Red Bull F1″[F1-Gate.com]

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez insists he is not worried about Daniel Ricciardo returning to the team as third driver from the 2023 season. There is speculation that a return to racing is to put the pressure of success on Sergio Perez, and even draw a line in his partnership with Max Verstappen.

At the end of last season, an open fight between Max Verstappen and Sergio Pereu over team orders at the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix led to friction between the two. Ultimately, it was Max Verstappen’s dominant F1 world champion who helped Sergio Perez lose his chance for second over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship. rice field. The decision to use Daniel Ricciardo, who was sacked by McLaren at the end of last season, is to make clear that no one is irreplaceable and that there are options if someone goes astray. There is also a direction to see. But at Red Bull Racing’s 2023 launch event in New York on Friday, Sergio Perez made it clear that having Daniel Ricciardo in the team has had little impact on how he approaches his work. . “Since I am at Red Bull Racing, I have to do my best,” Perez told the media. “Red Bull can pick almost any driver on the grid and it doesn’t matter if Daniel is here or not,” he continued. “It’s about working as a team.” “Obviously we want to maximize teamwork,” he said. “It’s not just Max or me, it’s a team problem. We have people at the factory who give everything for us and we have to live up to that. Sergio Pérez, far from resenting the return of the Prodigal Son, says Daniel Ricciardo’s participation in this year’s campaign has revitalized the entire organization. “We are lucky to have Daniel with that level of experience,” added Sergio Perez. “We’re lucky to have him back at the factory with the engineer,” he said. “He knows what we’re talking about when we talk about cars. It really helps.” And the 33-year-old Mexican driver, who joined Red Bull at the end of 2020 just weeks after winning his first Grand Prix for Racing Point at the Sakhir GP, is determined to do his part well. there is “We are working very hard with our engineers to be able to take the next step,” said Sergio Perez, who is not just Max Verstappen’s wingman, but himself in the title fight. I made it clear that I was going to.