“It's not just Daniel who wants my seat”: Sergio Perez unbothered by Ricciardo outqualifying him on home turf in an AlphaTauri

Sergio Perez reckons there are more drivers than Daniel Ricciardo eyeing his Red Bull seat. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after qualifying, the Mexican praised the Australian’s performance and felt he lacked progression in the final stint of qualifying.

Qualifying fifth on the grid, Sergio Perez was outqualified by his teammate Max Verstappen and the previous occupant of his seat. With an AlphaTauri qualifying ahead of a Red Bull, the 33-year-old faced a lot of questions about his performance.

However, the Red Bull driver was unable to perform in the main race and was punted out at the start itself by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Asked after the qualifying session what it felt like to qualify behind the AlphaTauri driver eyeing his seat, Sergio Perez replied:

“Well, Daniel did a tremendous lap. I dont think its just Daniel who wants my seat. Let’s say a lot of other drivers want to be in that seat and its great. If its what they deserve then happy for them.”

Asked if he expected an AlphaTauri or beat him, the Mexican said:

“Yeah not a Ferrari as well, but it is the way it is. I think are progression in Q3 was great, we end up losing a set potentially we didn’t need to. But you obviously know that after qualifying, I think that really hurt us, the progression we had in Q3. And when you are talking about a tenth and a half to two tenths, would have changed completely our life. It’s the way it is.”

Praising Ricciardo’s lap in qualifying, Sergio Perez lamented the slow progression in his own qualifying performance, which cost him a good starting position on the grid.

He felt there were more drivers, apart from the Australian, who were eyeing his seat. Commenting on his performance, he felt many others, including Ferrari, qualified ahead of him. He believes the fine margins made it a difficult session.

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Daniel Ricciardo downplays outperforming Sergio Perez in Mexican GP qualifying

Daniel Ricciardo believes outperforming Sergio Perez in the qualifying or race is not his primary focus. Qualifying as high up as second row on the grid for the first time since Belgium 2021 was itself a positive boost.

The Australian felt that a P4 start for AlphaTauri as a team was worth the celebration after the difficult year they’ve had. While the 34-year-old is speculated to be targeting a potential Red Bull drive in 2025, he downplayed the narrative of outperforming the Mexican occupant of his old seat.

Asked how it felt to qualify ahead of Sergio Perez, Ricciardo said:

“I mean look it's cool. I got asked like ‘Oh you’re ahead of Checo tomorrow, how does that feel?’. I mean it feels cool but I’m ahead of lot of people. It’s just cool to be that far up the grid again, its been a while. I mean I’m gonna guess it’s probably Monza or something last time in 2021, somewhere in 2021 that I was second row on the grid."

He continued:

"Yeah I mean it’s cool. There is part of me which for the next hour wants to celebrate today, because it’s certainly a day that should be celebrated. I think the team as well, it's not often they qualify this far up the grid, especially this year.”

While both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have downplayed the idea of Sergio Perez being replaced, Ricciardo’s return to his competitive form could give him a bargaining chip for a potential Red Bull return.

The Red Bull team boss was very clear that there was no set pre-mandate for the Mexican to finish second in the championship, but it is one of the goals the Milton Keynes squad wishes to have, which is a first and second finish in the driver’s championship.