The recent showdown between Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo at the qualifying session of the Mexico Grand Prix was a spectacle to watch. It is Ricciardo’s second race since his injury and long break after Zandvoort.
He was welcomed with a strange surprise at the United States Grand Prix last weekend and regardless of the doubts that loomed the paddock regarding his recovery and performance, the Australian driver outperformed most of the grid.
Tension rose significantly throughout the qualifying session. With an incredible effort, Ricciardo took fourth place and pushed Perez to the fifth spot while grabbing the second row, thus stopping him from achieving the desired outcome that Red Bull had in mind.
Ricciardo not only stole the show at the race but also raised the potential threat to the Mexican’s seat within the Austrian outfit whose contract will be over by the end of the 2024 season.
Daniel Ricciardo qualified P4 in Mexico!
He’ll start ahead of Sergio Perez in his home Grand Prix 👀 pic.twitter.com/nHh0V4qHE0
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 28, 2023
After suffering a hand injury, Daniel Ricciardo put on an incredible show that suggested he may be Verstappen’s perfect partner. While Sergio Perez qualified only 0.160s behind teammate Max Verstappen who finished third, his popularity within the team seems to be constantly deteriorating as he will be starting fifth in his home race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Sergio Perez reacts to the shocking defeat to Daniel Ricciardo
This season was particularly a difficult one for the Mexican driver with major issues when it comes to qualifying. The Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has also expressed his mounting annoyance with the 33-year-old.
However, he recently stated that Perez was not under any kind of immediate pressure to finish in second position in the driver’s championship. All the same, it’s evident that Red Bull has plenty of options available in case something goes wrong.
Mexico: Qualifying
As Ferraris brilham. Leclerc sempre foi poleman.
A Red Bull, assim como em Austin, parece dedicada a 2024.
Piastri solto na McLaren.
Alfa Romeo reagindo.
Ricciardo: Perto de Verstappen e mais rápido que Perez. A Honda liberou o motor na potência máxima? pic.twitter.com/iHsAfjo9bZ
— F1Corradi ™ (@f1corradi) October 29, 2023
According to Sergio Perez, an error during the qualifying race made him lose a shot at the podium. He said, “[It was] very fine margins, actually. I think the progression that we had through qualifying wasn’t great, especially in Q3. We lost a [tire] set in Q2, we put another lap on it, and just the progression in Q3 I felt like it could have been quite a lot better.” Nevertheless, the driver is still optimistic about a better outcome on Race Day in Mexico.
With his fourth-place start, Ricciardo made a lasting impression on Red Bull’s top management. The Australian driver received particular praise for his remarkable feat from Helmut Marko. A large portion of Ricciardo’s achievement may be attributed to the car’s substantial upgrades, which were built especially for the Mexican Grand Prix.