The chances of Daniel Ricciardo replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year have risen after last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix – and the next three races could be crunch time for two of the most popular drivers in the paddock.
Ricciardo’s stunning fourth place in qualifying put him ahead of Perez on the Mexico grid in the AlphaTauri – the supposedly lower-performing sister car to Red Bull – and Perez’s first-lap crash and retirement was a marked contrast to Ricciardo’s seventh-place finish.
It was a surprising turn of form, significantly bettering AlphaTauri’s past performances this season, and it came just two races after Ricciardo returned to the grid for a second time this season following his hand-breaking practice crash at Zandvoort.
In Brazil, Ricciardo has two more chances to deliver and he will be keen to continue his form straight away in the Sprint. It is a long shot, but his odds of a podium are at 250/1, a top six finish at 16/1 and points at 3/1, while the odds of points for both AlphaTauris at 22/1.
Uninspiring return
Ricciardo was dropped by McLaren last year but returned just 11 races into the season. Rescued from retirement by a Red Bull reserve role, his performance in mid-season testing, coupled with Nyck de Vries’ poor performances at AlphaTauri, got him the nod.
However, Ricciardo did not make an immediate impact on his comeback in Hungary – he set a time just 0.013s faster than team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying and while that was enough to get him into Q2, he was knocked out in the next session and started 13th.
In the race, the Australian dropped to last after being rear-ended by Zhou Guanyu and then hitting the back of Esteban Ocon. He recovered to finish in the same place he started, while Tsunoda climbed two spots from 17th to 15th.
Source: Autosport