Red Bull's Christian Horner moves to dismiss speculation Daniel Ricciardo is replacing Sergio Perez
- Planet Sport writer
- 20 November 2022
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has denied rumours suggesting the team signed Daniel Ricciardo to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen's partner for 2023.
The fact that Ricciardo signing for Red Bull at all is not even official yet, it did not stop the rumour mill from spinning into overdrive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when Helmut Marko appeared to leak that the Australian driver would be putting pen to paper.
While Horner admitted that it is indeed a fact that Red Bull and Ricciardo are deep in talks to sign him as the third driver for next season, at no point was he ever being considered to replace Checo.
"We haven't signed anything yet but Helmut in his enthusiasm has obviously announced it," Horner said.
"So I guess that means that Daniel will be joining us - unless, of course, he chooses not to sign it.
"Daniel's contract is very specific for a specific reason.
"We have a contract with Checo for the next two years. What the partnership of Max and Checo has produced has been phenomenal for us and they do have a good relationship.
"They've raced well for the team and we've got no reason to see that being any different tomorrow or for the duration of their contractual commitment to the team thereafter."
