He talked a massive game during the opening races, but he’s failed to get into Q3 at half the races so far. It’s incredible how Verstappen just stomps everyone thrown into the other car, young or experienced, and in every area. I honestly don’t think Checo “the tyre whisperer” Perez is better than Ver at tyre-saving, nor strategy, nor raw pace…
Is there anyone who RB would feasibly replace Per with? Maybe Norris? I’m not a huge fan personally, but I know he’s got plenty of cachet at the moment.
I like Perez, but he is underperforming. Who else have they got, though? Tsunoda and De Vries won’t be any better.
There’s two drivers I could maybe see being an improvement while still being a clear number two: Bottas and Sainz. But I’m not sure it’d serve Red Bull’s goals in the long run.
Ricciardo is their reserve driver, and was able to keep pace with Verstappen when they were teammates (although VER only got better and RIC only got worse since that time). The driver market is a bit thin at the moment.