"How is Sergio Perez keeping his seat before Daniel Ricciardo?": Fans react to Red Bull boss claiming Marko wanted to fire the Aussie after Barcelona

Daniel Ricciardo's untimely departure from RB sent ripples across the Formula 1 fraternity. Almost every other day there are new reports surrounding the Australian driver's exit and the latest rumors about Helmut Marko's wish to sack Ricciardo after the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix sent fans into a frenzy. Following this, fans took to social media to share their displeasure and ask Marko questions about Sergio Perez.

Red Bull sacked Ricciardo from the RB seat and handed it to Liam Lawson after the recently concluded Singapore Grand Prix. While the decision surprised many, numerous people within the paddock reportedly knew about it.

Rumors surrounding Ricciardo's exit have been around since the beginning of the 2024 season. This has been a year where the Honey Badger failed to shine and could not match his younger teammate Yuki Tsunoda in terms of statistics.

Citing this, Christian Horner and company sacked Daniel Ricciardo mid-season to bring in Lawson. This, interestingly, has come amid the series of underperformance by Perez, Red Bull's second driver. The Mexican failed to live up to the expectations but he kept his seat for this season.

While the talks about Ricciardo's departure were the strongest around the summer break, the latest reports claim that Helmut Marko, the advisor to Red Bull Racing, wanted the Aussie out of RB in Spain. It was the race where the 35-year-old qualified in P18 and ended his race in P15.

Fans online reacted to the news and questioned Marko for his choice. One fan wrote on X:

"How is Perez keeping his seat before Daniel."

Another fan brought out the same Perez-Ricciardo comparison:

"Make it make sense Helmut. Why keep checo then?"

"The way Marko treats his drivers is ridiculous," another fan wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from fans online:

"He should have done that with Perez instead.... But money talks," a fan wrote, hinting towards Perez's mega sponsorship deals with Red Bull.

"Was unfamiliar with your game Marko," wrote another fan.

"Why can’t he remove Perez though?" another fan commented.

Perez is currently languishing in P8 in the driver's championship with 144 points and this is hurting the Milton Keynes-based team in the Constructors' championship.

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What led Red Bull to sack Daniel Ricciardo?

The Red Bull fraternity brought in Daniel Ricciardo as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in 2023. However, the Honey Badger did not have to wait long before he was given the RB opportunity in mid-2023 after they sacked Nyck de Vries.

When Ricciardo returned to Formula 1, both his and Red Bull fans were happy. But the performances never really arrived. The Aussie drove seven races last season where he scored only six points (including Sprints).

Coming into 2024, things did not improve for the eight-time Grand Prix winner. Before the Singapore GP, he was able to claim 12 points in 18 races and three Sprints. His teammate Tsunoda scored a little less than double driving the same car.

With young Liam Lawson waiting in the wings, Red Bull could neither afford to see him move to a rival nor keep him waiting till next year. As a result, Helmut Marko and Co. sacked him after the Marina Bay Circuit race and put Lawson at the helm with immediate effect.