What does Ricciardo's return mean for Perez and Red Bull juniors?

Daniel Ricciardo may call himself a Formula 1 driver again. The crowd favourite takes over the seat from sacked AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries. What does this mean for Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and the juniors within the Austrian team?

The Australian's return is bad news for Red Bull driver Perez. The Mexican is under pressure at Red Bull after failing to reach the top 10 in five qualifying rounds in a row. The gap to World championship leader and teammate Max Verstappen is a whopping 99 points after ten races. Despite the gap to number two in the constructors' championship, Mercedes, being huge, the energy drink manufacturer's standards are higher.

The team is heavily impressed by Daniel Ricciardo's performance. He previously showed in the simulator that he is still fast and also showed during a Pirelli tyre test on Tuesday that he is competitive in the RB19. In fact, if calculated, his fastest lap time might have been good for a place on the front row of the grid at the Silverstone Grand Prix. In reality, Perez recorded only the 16th time.

Tsunoda in danger?

Ricciardo now gets 12 races to prove himself. If he is actually his old self again, he could be interesting as a possible replacement for Perez in 2024, should the Mexican fail to recover. His tenure at AlphaTauri will also give the Austrians valuable information about Yuki Tsunoda's speed. The Japanese was significantly faster than former teammate De Vries, but will he be the same next to the experienced and proven Grand Prix winner Ricciardo?

If Tsunoda is slower than the Australian at the end of the season, his chances of securing a Red Bull seat may disappear. There are also rumours that the flamboyant Japanese will make a move to Aston Martin, which will run with Honda engines from 2026. In that case, Ricciardo could find rhythm and form again at AlphaTauri, to be ready as a possible stand-in at Red Bull.

What does this mean for Lawson?

The arrival of the good-humoured eight-time race winner is also bad news for other Red Bull juniors. Liam Lawson, who is doing very well in Japanese Super Formula, will have secretly hoped that De Vries' seat would go his way. Helmut Marko, however, wants him to finish the season in the Asian racing class, to allow him to further mature for Formula 1. The New Zealander, on the other hand, possibly stands a chance of getting a seat in 2024, should Ricciardo return to Red Bull by then or find sanctuary elsewhere.

Other Red Bull juniors

One thing seems certain: for the time being, Lawson is preferred to Ayumu Iwasa, Dennis Hauger, Enzo Fittipaldi, Jak Crawford, Isack Hadjar and Zane Maloney. The other Red Bul juniors. Of that group, Iwasa has the best chance. The young Japanese is having a strong season in Formula 2. These juniors will be hoping that Ricciardo returns to the big Red Bull team and that Tsunoda makes a move to another team, freeing up a spot at AlphaTauri alongside Liam Lawson.

But they should all remember one thing: with Helmut Marko, your chances can change quickly. With the Austrian, nothing is certain.