Helmut Marko has written off the chances of Sergio Perez challenging his team-mate Max Verstappen for the 2023 title.
Spirits are high at Red Bull on the back of one of their very best seasons in Formula 1. They won the constructors' championship very comfortably over nearest rivals Ferrari, while Verstappen strolled to his second drivers' title with four races to spare.
Perez played his part in that, winning two races himself and adding a further nine podium finishes. But too often he was still well off the level of Verstappen – and team adviser Marko does not see that changing any time soon.
Not only that, but the experienced Austrian is convinced that no-one else on the grid would be able to match Verstappen in the same machinery. He said as much in a recent interview, in which he was asked to look ahead to the 2023 campaign.
"Checo can certainly win a race or two," he told Sport Bild. "But at the moment I do not see that he can challenge Max for a whole season. In general, I don't see that anyone with the same prerequisites can currently do this."
Perez may find himself under more pressure next season, in the wake of the signing of Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie returns to his old team as a reserve for 2023 and has expressed a desire to take same time away from F1 while without a race seat, though there have been some suggestions Ricciardo could be promoted to a race seat if the Mexican cannot perform.
Red Bull have, of course, played down such suggestions and have backed Perez. At a recent charity event with sponsors PokerStars, team principal Christian Horner explained that a major part of the reason why Red Bull welcomed Ricciardo back was his marketability.
He told a small group of attendees including Mirror Sport : "We felt it was right to bring him back into the team – and of course promotionally, he's got the biggest smile in Formula 1. For him, he will be able to get back to having fun and rediscover his enjoyment of being a Formula 1 driver, rather than the stress he has had over the last couple of years."
Marko echoed that in his own interview, telling the German publication: "Ricciardo is exactly the right person with his profile and image." He also explained that Red Bull never considered Mick Schumacher for the role despite him being dropped as a racer by Haas, due to his Ferrari links.
