Karun Chandkok has admitted he sees an intriguing battle developing for the second seat at Red Bull between Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo throughout the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Perez is the current incumbent of the position and renewed his contract with the reigning World Champions through to the end of 2024 midway through last year.
However, ex-F1 driver Chandhok foresees a possibility that Perez could be put under increasing pressure by the return of Ricciardo to Red Bull as a reserve driver if the Mexican fails to perform adequately alongside Max Verstappen this year.
But Chandhok has also warned the potential for the Australian to make a sensational permanent racing comeback with the side he departed at the end of 2018 might only be on the cards if he can be evaluated in one of its cars from the current era.
“I’m waiting to see how it plays out because the last time Daniel drove a Red Bull was in 2018, and Formula 1 cars have changed a lot,” Chandhok told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s like a different category now. I think Max [Verstappen] has changed a lot, [given] the trajectory he’s been on. He’s a 25-year-old whose confidence is growing.
“I think Daniel versus Checo is an interesting fight for the ’24 seat. How do they evaluate Daniel?
“That’s what I’m interested to see because, yeah, they can put them in the [simulator], but it’s not the same as driving the old car”, he expressed.
“So, will they give him a go in a test somewhere? That’s what I’d like to see, is how do they genuinely evaluate Daniel Ricciardo today?”
Despite Chandhok’s comments, Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, and motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, have continuously downplayed any speculation that Ricciardo’s signing was made with the intention to internally place a burden on Perez to produce results.
Meanwhile, Chandhok’s fellow colleague at Sky, David Croft, has also weighed in and suggested the Austrian team should be looking for a younger alternative to Ricciardo if they were to axe Perez.
“They’re both capable of winning races but, to me, they win races in very different ways. I hate to say this – I think Daniel’s a terrific bloke, but he is not the future for Red Bull, not by any stretch of the imagination, mainly because of age,” Croft explained.
“When Max spoke at the end of the season and talked about potentially stopping at the age of 31, that’s a big revelation to me.
“He’s already thinking about the time he stops racing. If he’s thinking that, then Red Bull should be thinking it too. I’d be trying to identify somebody else to come in.”
This season will mark the first since 2011 that Ricciardo fails to appear on the grid’s entry list at the start of the year, while Perez will begin his third campaign at Red Bull after finishing a career-best third in the Drivers’ Championship in 2022.
