According to Eddie Jordan, it’s highly unlikely that Daniel Ricciardo could pose a greater challenge to Max Verstappen than Sergio Perez.
Red Bull has been ruling the roost in the 2023 F1 season so far, winning five races, with Verstappen and Perez clinching three and two victories, respectively. This dominant performance has given Red Bull a commanding lead of 122 points over their closest rivals Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen currently leads the Drivers’ standings, 14 points ahead of Perez. In the coming years, David Coulthard anticipates that many drivers will attempt to challenge Verstappen’s supremacy.
However, Coulthard is of the opinion that it’s unlikely for anyone within the same team to give Verstappen a run for his money.
“I think we have a generation of drivers in their mid-20s that, for the next decade, are going to be trying to fight it out,” Coulthard explained on the Formula For Success podcast.
“Basically, any one of those guys who get their hands on a race-winning car have a chance to challenge Max. Challenging Max in the same team is going to take a mighty effort, because Max is a machine.
“He’s been groomed – in the nicest way of that expression – in terms of being on race tracks from an early age. Both parents have been racers.
“He’s assertive, strong-willed and more than capable. Do you see anyone that could jump in Checo’s car and leave Max thinking, ‘Which way did he go?'”
During a recent podcast, Jordan, alongside other guests, shared their thoughts on Ricciardo’s chances as a reserve driver for Red Bull in 2023. It is worth noting that Ricciardo had previously teamed up with Verstappen between 2016 and 2018.
However, Jordan believes that the Australian driver may struggle to keep up with the current level of performance demonstrated by Perez.
“I’ve gone through this on a number of occasions, and I actually think… Daniel Ricciardo is there,” former team boss Jordan explained.
“There’s no way that Daniel’s going to do the job that Checo’s doing, in my opinion, having seen what Daniel has done.
“As much as we like the guy, he’s just a fabulous person to be around, but Checo is doing a magic job.”
