“There’s not a chance Ricciardo replaces Perez”, claims ex-F1 team boss

After being dropped by McLaren, Ricciardo was signed by Red Bull as their third driver for F1 2023.

Ricciardo will support Perez and Max Verstappen with work in the team’s simulator, while driving for Red Bull at a number of marketing arrivals.

His return to the team sparked some debate that Red Bull could be lining up the Australian for 2024, should Perez struggle to perform.

There was some animosity between Red Bull’s two drivers after Verstappen refused to obey team orders to aid Perez’s battle with Charles Leclerc for second in the drivers’ championship.

It soon transpired that Verstappen refused team orders after he learned that Perez allegedly crashed deliberately in qualifying at Monaco earlier in the season.

Speaking to OLBG, Jordan - who owned Jordan Grand Prix, which raced in F1 between 1991 and 2005 - thinks Perez’s position in the team isn’t under threat.

“There's not a chance Checo Perez will be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo,” Jordan said. “Checo is a darling in that team. Remember what Checo does, he is brilliant foil for Max, he is strong, he can win when he needs to win, or when he has the chance and opportunity to win. 

“There was a bit of a kerfuffle between the two of them, and the opportunity to be second in the championship was a different issue.”

Having distinguished number one and number two drivers has often been one of the keys to teams’ success in F1.

Mercedes’ pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas was a prime example, where they won five consecutive constructors’ championships.

Hamilton won four drivers’ titles, with Bottas failing to mount a serious title charge in their five seasons together.

“It's a perfect scenario for Red Bull, as it was for Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine,” Jordan added. “Irvine was happy, he understood the rules, he was being paid on the basis of what he agreed to do. 

“I'm sure Checo is the same. He brings good sponsorship to the team, I doubt Daniel Ricciardo does, not to the same level as the Mexican can bring. The biggest thing Red Bull have is continuity. They will not want to change that. Ricciardo has been there before, he knows he doesn't have to be given special treatment, he knows how the team operates, the same people were there; Christian Horner and Adrian Newey. 

“They're the key people in that team, Daniel knows them well but it would have to be as a result of a driver not being able to participate, but just to sack Checo, I don't see that at all.”